LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



©f/npXJ-b titopttrigfyi tyaD.Qj 
Shelf J4..3. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A CHILD'S 
STORY OF THE BIBLE 




ENTERING THE ARK. 



ALTEMUS* YOUNG PEOPLE'S LIBRARY 



A CHILD'S 

Story of the Bible 



With 72 Illustrations 



< ^ 




PHILADELPHIA -3 6 ^^ L 0u2j 

HENRY ALTEMUS 
1895 



V 






IN 


UNIFORM BINDING 




PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED 


ROBINSON 


CRUSOE 


BUNYAN'S 


pilgrim's progress 


A CHILD'S 


STORY OF THE BIBLE 


A CHILD'S 


LIFE OF CHRIST 


ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND 


THROUGH 


THE LOOKING-GLASS 



Copyrighted, 1895, by Henry Altemus 



HENRY ALTEMUS, MANUFACTURER 
PHILADELPHIA 



INTRODUCTION 



THE present volume endeavors to tell in simple 
language, and in a form fitted for the hands 
of the younger members of the Christian 
flock, the tale of God's dealings with his Chosen 
People under the Old Dispensation, with its fore- 
shadowing^ of the coining of that Messiah who was 
to make all mankind one fold under one Shepherd. 
The words are simple, so that all can understand 
them without difficulty. Our efforts have been di- 
rected to make this book not only attractive to the 
little ones, but of assistance to those who have the 
privilege of introducing them to the inspired ac- 
counts of the world's history from its Creation to 
the sorrowful death and glorious ascension of our 
divine Saviour Jesus Christ. 

The title of the Bible is derived from a Latin 
word, itself derived from the Greek, which signifies 
" Book, n and was applied to the Hebrew Scriptures 
as well as to the New Testament, as being books 
read in Christian Churches. It comprises the Five 
Books of Moses, or the Law, the Historical Books, 
the Prophetical Works, and Devotional Works. By 
the Law is understood Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 
Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Historical Books 
comprise the Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 

(v) 



v i INTRODUCTION 

Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and 
Esther. The Prophetical Works are the prophecies 
of Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the 
Twelve Minor Prophets ; while under the head of 
Devotional Works are the Psalms, Proverbs, the 
Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. 

The Old Testament is but the Introduction to the 
New Testament. The creation of the world, as 
told in the Book of Genesis, the Bondage in Egypt, 
the Conquest of the Promised Land, the picturesque 
and dramatic history of the Chosen People, of their 
Judges and Kings, their Warriors and Statesmen, 
their Priests and Prophets, their Captivity in Baby- 
lon, and their Return to their native land, all point 
forward to the Story of the Redeemer, all serve but 
to prepare the way for the Coming of Christ, the 
Saviour of the World. The books which we know 
as constituting the Old Testament are, also, 
counterparts to those that constitute the New Tes- 
tament. The Four Gospels correspond to the 
Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses, the Acts of 
the Apostles to the Historical Books, the Epistles to 
the Prophetical Works, and the Book of Revelation 
to Daniel and Ezekiel. The Old Testament is the 
Covenant of God with his Chosen People, the New 
Testament speaks of the New Covenant of God with 
all Mankind, by which all are offered the privileges 
of adoption as Children of God and Heirs of the 
Kingdom of Heaven. 

With the exception of Daniel, which is written in 
Chaldee, the Canonical Works of the Old Testament 
are in the Hebrew language, spoken by the Jews in 
the Holy Land. But in addition to these Canonical 



INTRODUCTION v ii 

Scriptures, there are several historical narratives 
written in Greek, which the greater part of the 
Christian World hold in high esteem, and which are 
read for u instruction in manners." These Apocry- 
phal Works, as Protestant Churches call them, were 
written after the Jews had been led away captive 
into Babylon and form the connecting link between 
the Old and New Testaments. They are of great 
historical value, as telling us of the struggles of the 
Jews under the Greek Kings of Syria. 

Of all these works various translations in many 
languages have been made. The Hebrew text was 
rendered into Greek about 300 years before the birth 
of Christ, and all were translated into Latin about 
the second and third centuries of the Christian era. 
The revision of this Latin Version by S. Jerome 
(a. d. 383) became the Authorized Version of the 
Western Church, and is called the Vulgate. From 
this Latin Version partial translations were made 
into the vernacular languages of various countries, 
and a version of the whole into English appeared 
under the name of Wyclif about 1382. After the 
introduction of* printing into England, in 1477, 
other translations, summaries and extracts were 
given to the world, and in 1535 the first complete 
English Bible was issued by Miles Coverdale. In 
161 1 the so called " authorized n English version 
was published, and this was carefully revised by 
companies of English and American scholars during 
the years 1870 to 1880, the result being known as 
the " Revised Version. n The New Testament, thus 
revised, was published in 1880, the Old Testament 
in 1884. 




ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN OUT OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN 



THE STORY 

Of the Old Testament 



CHAPTER I 

THE CREATION — THE FIRST MAN AND WOMAN- — 
ABEL KILLED BY CAIN — THE DELUGE — THE 
CALLING OF ABRAHAM — THE BIRTH OF ISAAC. 

IN the beginning God made all things, and on the 
sixth day he looked upon what he had made ; 
and he was well pleased with it. And he rested 
on the seventh day, and made it holy. 

God formed man from the dust of the ground, in 
his own image, and breathed into his nostrils the 
breath of life. And God spoke kindly to Adam 
("The Man"), and told him that he should have 
power over every living thing on the earth, the birds 
in the air, and the fish in the sea. The fruit on the 
trees and bushes was to be his food, and he was 

(7) 



8 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

placed within the beautiful garden of Eden, to dress 
it and to keep it. A river passed through the 
garden to water it. And Adam was to eat of every 
tree in it, except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good 
and Evil. If he ate of this tree, he would surely 
die. And God saw it was not good for man to be 
alone, so he made Eve out of a bone from Adam's 
side, and gave her to him to be a wife or helpmeet. 
And all the animals which God had created came 
to Adam, and he gave them their names. 

Although everything was so beautiful, and al- 
though Adam and Eve were good, and perfectly 
happy, the Devil came in the form of a serpent, and 
told Eve that there would be no harm in tasting the 
fruit upon the forbidden tree. And she looked at it, 
and believed the serpent ; and stretching forth her 
hand, she plucked the fruit and ate it, and also gave 
to her husband. As soon as they had eaten of the 
forbidden fruit they knew they were naked, and 
went and hid themselves. Then God asked them 
why they had done this ; and they were both afraid. 
And Adam laid the blame upon his wife, and she 
blamed the serpent. But God was displeased with 
them both, and he cast them out of the beautiful 
garden, and cursed the ground for their sake ; and 
he told them they would have to work hard for their 
bread, and after this their bodies were to die, and 
return to the dust. But God promised that he w r ould 
afterwards send a Saviour, who would save them and 
their descendants from the guilt of their sin, if they 
would believe upon him. 

And God gave Adam and Eve two sons after they 
were driven out of the garden. The name of the 



I0 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

elder was Cain, and of the younger Abel. Cain 
worked as a farmer or gardener ; but Abel was a 
shepherd. And one day they offered up a sacrifice 
to God : Cain's offering was the fruits of the ground, 
that of Abel was a little lamb. Now Abel was sorry 
for his sins, and God heard and pardoned him. But 
Cain continued hard and stubborn. And Abel's 
sacrifice was accepted by God, but that of Cain was 
not. This made Cain very angry. And God asked 
him why he was angry ; if he did right he would be 
pleased with him, if he did not do right it was his 
own fault. 

This made Cain envious of Abel, and one day he 
rose up against him in the field and slew him. And 
God called him, and asked where his brother was. 
Cain said he did not know ; was he his brother's 
keeper ? And because Cain had done this God set a 
mark upon him so that every one would know him, 
and sentenced him to be a fugitive and a wanderer 
for the rest of his days. Then Cain built a city in 
the land of Nod, to the east of Eden, and amongst 
his descendants were Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain. 
Jabal taught people to dwell in tents and keep cattle ; 
Jubal taught the art of music ; and Tubal-cain was 
skilful in making articles out of brass and iron. 

Enoch, a descendant of Seth, another son of Adam, 
was a very good man, who passed from earth to 
heaven without dying. He walked with God; and 
he was not, for God took him. His son Methuselah 
lived longer than any man either before or since ; he 
was nine hundred and sixty-nine years old when he 
died. Many years afterwards the people began to 
increase upon the earth. And they were very wicked, 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT n 

and did what pleased themselves, and never thought 
about pleasing God ; so he determined to punish 
them. He said his Spirit would not always strive 
with man, but that after a hundred and twenty years 
man would be destroyed. 

And God spoke to a good man called Noah, the 
grandson of Methuselah, and commanded him to 
build an ark, a large house that might float upon the 
waters. And Noah did so ; but it took him about 
one hundred years to build it, and all the people that 
passed by mocked him, and said what a fool he was 
to take so much trouble in building such a large 
floating house. But Noah knew better, and believed 
God. And one day God told him to come inside the 
ark with all his family, and to take some of all kinds 
of birds and beasts with him. And Noah and his 
family and all the animals entered the ark, and God 
shut them in. As soon as Noah and his family were 
inside the ark it began to rain, and it rained for forty 
days and forty nights. And everything outside the 
ark was covered with water, so that even those who 
went to the tops of the highest hills were drowned. 
Everybody and every living thing that was left out- 
side the ark perished in that great flood. 

After forty days Noah opened a window in the ark 
and let a raven fly out, in order to see if there was 
any dry ground ; but the raven returned, having 
found no place to rest upon. Then he sent forth a 
dove, but she also returned ; then he sent forth the 
dove again, and she went away for a whole day, but 
in the evening she returned with an olive leaf in her 
mouth. Then Noah knew that the waters were 
abating. The next time the dove was sent out she 



I2 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

did not return. God did not forget Noah, and after 
his time was accomplished the ark rested on Mount 
Ararat. Everything in it went out there. And 
Noah was thankful for his deliverance, and he built 
an altar and offered a sacrifice to the Lord. And 
God set a beautiful rainbow in the sky, to show that 
he would never again cover the earth with water in 
that way. Noah lived for three hundred and fifty 
years after the flood, and was nine hundred and fifty 
years old when he died. 

But it was not long before the people again forgot 
all about God, and their minds were filled with their 
own vain imaginations. As they journeyed from the 
east they came to a plain in the land of Shinar : and 
they said one to another, Come, let us build a tower 
that shall reach up to heaven! And they began to 
build a large tower of brick. But God saw their 
work and the wicked thoughts in their hearts, and 
was angry because of the building of this tower. 
They built it, very likely, to escape from any flood 
which might come again upon the earth, although 
God had said to Noah that there would never be such 
a flood again. Now at that time the people all spoke 
one language. So God made all those who were 
working at the tower each to speak a different lan- 
guage ; and as they could not understand one another 
they had to stop the building. So this tower was 
called the Tower of Babel, because babel means con- 
fusion. This Babel, or Babylon, as it was afterwards 
called, was the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom in 
the plain of Shinar. When the people were scat- 
tered by the confusion of tongues we read that As- 
shur went forth and built Nineveh. 




14 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



Many years after these things happened there lived 
in the land of Ur of the Chaldees a man called 
Abram, a son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, one 
of Noah's sons. He feared God, and because the 
people round about him worshipped idols, God told 
him to go up into a country which he would show 
him, promising to bless him, and make of him a 
great nation. And Abram believed God, and departed 
with his wife Sarai, and Lot, his brother's son. And 
they came to Shechem in Canaan, where God spoke 
to him and told him that he would give all the land 
to his descendants. When a famine arose in the 
land, Abram had to go down to Egypt to get food ; 
and at another time, his flocks and herds had in- 
creased so much that he had to part from Lot. And 
Lot, being selfish, chose the plain of Jordan, because 
it was rich and well-watered. But Lot was not long 
there, among the wicked people of Sodom, before 
he fell into trouble. Four kings with an army came 
up against Sodom and took it, and Lot and his 
family were amongst the captives. But Abram 
came and rescued Lot from these kings, and took 
back all the spoil which they had carried off with 
them. And as Abram was returning he was met by 
Melchizedek, king of Salem and a minister of God, 
who blessed him and thanked God for giving him 
the victory. 

After this God talked with Abram. He promised 
him that he would have a son, and that his descend- 
ants would be like the stars for number, but that 
they would be strangers in a strange land, and be 
servants, and be ill-treated for a season. After four 
hundred years they would come out of that land 



1 6 STORY OF THE OLD TESTA3IEi\T 

with great wealth. And God changed Abram's 
name to Abraham, which signifies the father of many 
nations ; and Sarai's was changed to Sarah, which 
means princess. 

One day Abraham was seated at his tent door, in 
the heat of the day, when he saw three men stand- 
ing near him. And he ran and bowed down before 
them, as is the custom in the east, and asked them 
to rest nnder a tree. Now two of these men were 
angels, and one of them was the Lord, although 
Abraham knew not this at the time. And Abraham 
was very kind to them, and entertained them with 
the best food he had ; and after that they went 
together towards the city of Sodom. 

It was now revealed to Abraham that the cities of 
Sodom and Gomorrah in the plain of Jordan were 
to be destroyed because they were so wicked. Abra- 
ham pleaded with God that if there were found a 
certain number of righteous men in Sodom he would 
not destroy it. But there were not even ten right- 
eous people found there. And Abraham was sorry 
when he heard this, because Lot dwelt in Sodom. 
But God sent two angels to warn Lot of what was 
coming ; and Lot told some of his friends of the great 
destruction impending ; but they would not believe 
it, and only laughed at him. And the two angels hur- 
ried Lot and his wife and his two daughters out of 
the doomed city, and told them to depart quickly, 
and not look behind, else they would perish with it. 
And Lot fled to a city called Zoar ; but on the way 
thither his wife looked back, and because of her dis- 
obedience she at once became a pillar of salt. And 
the Lord rained fire and brimstone down upon Sodom 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



17 



and Gomorrah, and tliey were destroyed, and only 
Lot and his daughters were saved alive. 

When Abraham was about one hundred years old, 
God remembered his promise, and a son was born 
to him, whom he called Isaac. When Isaac grew 
up, young Ishmael, the son of Hagar, who lived in 
the tents with them, mocked at Isaac, and Abraham 
was obliged to send away Hagar and Ishmael. He 
gave them some bread and water for the journey ; 
but after Hagar had been some time in the wilder- 
ness, the water was exhausted, and poor Ishmael was 
like to die. And Hagar wept bitterly ; but God 
heard her cry, and showed her a well of water, and 
their lives were saved. As Ishmael grew up he be- 
came expert in the use of the bow and arrow, and 
became the father of the wandering tribes of the 
eastern desert. 

And one day God spoke to Abraham, and asked 
him to do a very hard and bitter thing, that he might 
see if he trusted him with all his heart. He com- 
manded Abraham to take his only and beloved son 
Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him 
as a sacrifice upon an altar ; so Abraham started 
early one morning, and saddled his ass, and took 
Isaac, and two young men who were his servants, 
and wood ready to lay upon the altar. On the third 
day he came to the place ; and Abraham and Isaac 
went up to the mountain-top alone, and Isaac said, 
My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where 
is the lamb for a burnt offering ? Abraham replied, 
My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt- 
offering. And Abraham built an altar and laid the 
wood upon it. And then he bound Isaac, and laid 



£ 8 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

him upon the wood, and took his knife to slay his 
son. But the angel of the Lord stayed his hand; 
and looking round Abraham saw a ram caught fast 
in the bushes by the horns; and he offered up the 
ram instead of Isaac. 

God was now well pleased with Abraham because 
of his obedience and faith, as shown by his willing- 
ness to offer up his son, and he received the promise 
of great blessings. His descendants were to be like 
the sand on the sea-shore for multitude; and all 
nations of the earth were to be blessed in them, 
because the Saviour who had been promised was to 
be born amongst them. 



CHAPTER II 

THE MARRIAGE OF ISAAC — ESAU AND JACOB — JOSEPH 
SOLD INTO EGYPT — HE BECOMES RULER THERE — 
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GO DOWN TO EGYPT — 
THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. 

WHEN Isaac grew up, Abraham wished him to 
take a wife, but not one of the women of the 
country, because they were idolaters. So he 
sent his faithful servant to some of his own kindred, 
with ten camels and many beautiful presents. And 
when the servant came near to a city in the country 
to which he was sent, he brought his camels to a well, 
and prayed that God would show kindness to his 
master, and that the woman who gave him water to 



> 

> 
> 



> 

o 

> 
> 

o 




2o STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

drink out of her pitcher when he asked it might be 
the wife of Isaac. 

And a beautiful young woman, named Rebekah, 
came down to draw water with her pitcher, and the 
servant ran and asked for some water for himself and 
the camels. And she behaved kindly towards him, and 
drew water for him; and the servant knew at once 
that this was the woman that God had chosen to be 
Isaac's wife. And after Abraham's servant had given 
her some presents, he heard that she was a relation 
of his master's; and Laban, her brother, came out to 
meet him, and entertained him. Then the servant 
delivered his message, and told them of Abraham's 
wealth in camels, and oxen, and sheep, and how he 
wished a wife for his son. And Rebekah's friends 
saw that God had guided Abraham's servant thither; 
and the next day he started on his homeward journey, 
with Rebekah and her maid on the camels beside 
him. When they reached the land of Canaan it was 
towards evening, and Isaac, who had gone out to the 
fields to meditate, met them. And Rebekah went 
home with him, and became his wife, and he loved 
her very much. 

And when Abraham was one hundred and seventy- 
five years old he died; and they buried him beside 
Sarah, in the field which he had bought from Ephron 
the Hittite. 

And God gave Isaac two sons ; the name of the 
eldest was Esau, and that of the youngest Jacob. 
Esau was a great hunter, and often brought home 
deer, and made food that his father loved. Jacob 
was a plain shepherd, living in a tent. One day 
Esau came in from the fields faint with hunger, and 



en 
> 
> 
O 

W 

r 
w 

3 

Q 
W 
> 




22 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

he saw Jacob cooking a mess of pottage, and lie asked 
for some. Now Jacob was very mean, and he asked 
Esan for his birthright, or all that he was entitled 
to as the eldest son, in exchange for the pottage. 
And Esau consented to the exchange, and thus 
despised his birthright. 

And a great famine arose in the land of Canaan, 
which caused Isaac to remove with his family and his 
flocks and herds to the land of Gerar. And God 
prospered him there, and he became very wealthy, 
and had great flocks of sheep, cattle and many 
servants. And Isaac dug again the wells of his 
father Abraham which had been stopped up. And 
God appeared to him at Beersheba, and promised to 
bless him. 

When Isaac grew old and could not see, he sent 
Esau out to the field to bring home the kind of 
flesh that he loved, because he purposed to give 
Esau his blessing before he died. But Rebekah 
heard this ; and as she loved Jacob best, she dis- 
guised him with skins, to make him hairy like Esau, 
so that Isaac would not know it was Jacob. And 
she gave him the flesh of a kid that had been newly 
killed, and sent him to get the blessing from his 
father. And Isaac blessed Jacob with the first and 
best blessing, as the elder son, and prayed that God 
would bless him with the good things of the earth, 
and that he might become great, and that other 
nations might bow down to him. When Esau came 
home, and found out what his brother had done, he 
cried out with a loud voice for his father to bless him 
also. And Isaac blessed him also, but not with the 
same great blessing as Jacob. And Esau hated 



o 

o 

W 
g 

w 
> 




24 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



Jacob for this, and purposed in his heart to kill him 
when he had an opportunity. 

And Rebekah warned Jacob of his brother Esau's 
intention to kill him; so Jacob went to Padan-aram, 
where his uncle Laban lived. When on his journey 
he lighted upon a certain place, where he tarried all 
night, and lay down with stones for his pillow. 
And as he slept he dreamed that he saw a ladder set 
up on the earth, the top of which reached to 
heaven, and behold, the angels of God ascending 
and descending upon it. And above it stood the 
Lord, who made him the gracious promise that he 
would keep him in all the way he had to go, and 
give him the land wherein he w 7 as to himself and his 
children for a possession. In the morning Jacob 
took his stone pillow and poured oil upon the top of 
it, and called the place Bethel, which means the 
house of God. And he vowed that if God would be 
with him and keep him, the Lord should be his God. 

And Jacob went on his journey until he came to 
Haran, where his uncle Laban lived. And near a 
well in a field he met Rachel, the daughter of 
Laban, to whom he made himself known, and as- 
sisted her in watering her sheep. Laban welcomed 
Jacob, and made an agreement with him, whereby 
if he served him seven years he would have his 
younger daughter Rachel, whom Jacob loved, to be 
his wife. But at the end of seven years, when Jacob 
claimed Rachel as his wife, the crafty Laban gave 
him her sister Leah instead, whom he did not love, 
and said he must serve him another seven years for 
Rachel. And Jacob, for the love he bore to Rachel, 
consented to serve another seven years for her. 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



25 



Then Jacob returned to the land of Canaan, hav- 
ing now eleven sons and one daughter, and a great 
many sheep and cattle, for God had fulfilled his 
promise and blessed him. On the journey, at a 
certain place, the Lord wrestled with him for a 
whole night, and gave him a new name. Instead of 
Jacob he was to be called Israel, which means U A 
Prince of God. n And he called the place Peniel, 
which means "the face of God, n because he had 
seen God face to face. On the journey he also met 
his brother Esau, and they were reconciled to one 
another. But his wife Rachel died by the way, 
when his youngest son Benjamin was born. Soon 
after Jacob's return to Canaan his father Isaac also 
died. And as the land was not able to support him 
and Esau, to whom he was now reconciled, because 
of the multitude of their sheep and cattle, they 
parted company, and Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. 

Of all his twelve sons Jacob loved Joseph best, and 
he made him a coat of many colors. When Joseph 
was about seventeen years of age, he had a strange 
dream, which he told to his brothers. He thought 
in his dream that, they were all binding sheaves in 
the field, when his sheaf arose and stood upright, 
and all his brothers' sheaves stood up and bowed 
down to it. This caused his brothers to be very 
envious and jealous of him. Joseph dreamed again 
that the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down 
to him. All this seemed as if they, his elder 
brethren, who were older and wiser than him, were 
to bow down and serve him. 

While his brethren were feeding their flocks at 
Shechem Joseph was sent by his father from 



26 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



Hebron to see as to their welfare, and to bring him 
word. He found them at Dothan, about twelve 
miles from Shechem. When his brethren saw him 
afar off they made a plot against him to kill him. 
They could not bear his dreams, his reproofs, his airs 
of superiority, as they deemed them, any longer. 
They thought they had now a good opportunity to 
kill him, cast his body into a pit, and then report 
that some evil beast had devoured him. Reuben, 
his eldest brother, was a little less heartless than the 
rest, and begged that they would not kill him, but 
leave him in a pit in the wilderness. So they 
stripped him of his coat of many colors, and cast 
him into a pit, where he might have perished; but a 
band of merchants, Ishmaelites and Midianites, 
bound for the land of Egypt, coining that way, his 
brethren sold him to them as a slave for twenty 
pieces of silver. When Reuben, who did not know 
of this, came to the pit and found his brother Joseph 
gone, he was in great distress, and wondered what 
he should say to his father on his return. So these 
wicked brethren killed a kid, dipped Joseph's coat in 
the blood, and taking it to their, father, made him 
believe that some evil beast had devoured him. 
Jacob mourned long and bitterly for his son, and 
said, U I will go down into the grave unto my son 
mourning." 

Meanwhile Joseph was sold by the Ishmaelites as 
a slave to Potiphar, an officer of King Pharaoh, cap- 
tain of his guard, who, finding him honest and dili- 
gent, trusted him, and promoted him in his service. 
But the wife of Potiphar was not a good woman, 
and made her husband believe that he had a bad ser- 



2 8 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

vant, and bore false witness against him. So Joseph 
was sent to prison because of what this woman said 
against him. In prison he was kindly treated by the 
jailer, and interpreted the dreams of two of the 
king's servants, the chief butler and the chief baker, 
who were also in prison. The interpretation of the 
dreams which God gave to Joseph came exactly true : 
as Joseph foretold, the chief baker was hanged by 
Pharaoh within three days, but the chief butler was 
again restored to favor. 

King Pharaoh had also strange dreams,' which 
none of all the wise men in his kingdom could inter- 
pret. Then the chief butler, who had previously 
forgotten all about Joseph, remembered that the 
young Hebrew in prison had interpreted his dream 
correctly. So he told Pharaoh about him, and the 
king then sent for Joseph, and told one of his dreams 
to him. He thought that he was standing on the bank 
of the river Nile, when seven fat kine came up out 
of the water, and fed in a meadow. After them 
came seven lean kine, which swallowed up the fat 
ones, without making them look any better. His 
other dream was of seven good and full ears of corn 
growing on one stalk, which were swallowed up by 
seven poor, thin, withered ears, blasted by the east 
wind. Joseph explained to Pharaoh that it was God 
who enabled him to interpret dreams, and told him 
that his dreams were warnings sent by God of a great 
calamity which was coming upon the land. The 
seven fat kine and the seven good ears symbolized 
seven years of plenty; and the seven lean kine and 
seven blasted ears meant seven years of famine which 
were to follow. So Joseph advised the king that 



i^* 



V 



.;SP l w^ 



■mk-=iW- 



mmm* 



3° 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



during the years of plenty he. should lay up in store 
against the years of famine, and set a wise man over 
the land to collect stores of food, so that the people 
might not perish with hunger during the years of 
dearth. Pharaoh saw the wisdom of this advice, 
and also that there was no one more fit and proper to 
set over the land to gather food than Joseph. So he 
appointed him to this post, put his own ring on his 
hand, gave him a gold chain and rich clothing, and 
a chariot to ride in, with people marching before, 
telling them to do him honor. Thus the youth who 
had been sold as a slave was proclaimed ruler over 
the land; only in the throne was Pharaoh greater 
than Joseph. 

What Joseph had foretold came exactly to pass. 
There came seven years of plenty, and during those 
years Joseph gathered the corn into storehouses, and 
kept it till the seven years of famine. Then the 
people came from far and near into Egypt to buy 
corn, and amongst those who came were Joseph's 
ten brethren. When they were brought into Joseph's 
presence they bowed themselves to the ground be- 
fore him. He recognized them at once, but spoke 
roughly to them, and asked them many questions, 
accusing them of being spies, and ordered that one 
of them should be detained until Benjamin, their 
youngest brother, had been brought to him. When 
they heard this their hearts reproved them, and they 
felt that this had come upon them because of theii 
conduct towards Joseph. Then Joseph ordered that 
their sacks should be filled with corn, and each man's 
money restored into his sack. 

And when they returned they told their father 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



31 



Jacob all that the ruler in Egypt had said and done 
to them ; also that they need not go back again to 
purchase corn unless they took their brother Ben- 
jamin with them. Jacob was very unhappy at the 
prospect of losing his well-beloved Benjamin. He 
said, My son shall not go down with you; for his 
brother is dead, and he is left alone ; if mischief be- 
fall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall 
ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the 
grave. 

But as the famine was sore, he ordered them to 
take down a present of the best fruits of the land to 
the ruler in Egypt, and so endeavor to gain favor 
with him. When Joseph saw them come with Ben- 
jamin, he ordered his steward to prepare a meal, as 
these men were to dine with him at noon. Joseph 
again asked them many questions about the welfare 
of his father ; and when he saw Benjamin with them 
his heart yearned over him, and he went into his 
chamber and wept. After that they all feasted to- 
gether, and at Joseph's command the sacks of his 
brethren were filled with corn, the money they had 
brought was put back into their sacks' mouth, and 
Joseph's silver cup was put into Benjamin's sack. 
Next day, before they had got very far from the city, 
a messenger from Joseph stopped them and accused 
them of stealing his master's silver cup. They all 
protested that they knew nothing about it; but in 
spite of what they said, when their sacks were opened 
and examined, 'the cup was found in that of Ben- 
jamin. So they were obliged to go back to the ruler 
of Egypt, and explain the matter. Joseph said that 
he would detain Benjamin as his servant for what he 



32 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



had done. Judah, his brother, made an earnest 
appeal that he shoiild be detained instead of Ben- 
jamin, for his aged father's sake. 

At this Joseph could not contain himself any 
longer; so he made himself known to his brethren, 
and he wept aloud with them, so that all the house 
of Pharaoh heard." He said, I am Joseph ; doth my 
father yet live? None of them could answer him, 
for they were afraid. But Joseph calmed their fears, 
and told them that although they had sold him as a 
slave into Egypt, God had sent him before them to 
preserve their lives. And he requested them to go 
at once to the land of Canaan, and bring their father, 
and their families, and all their flocks and herds, and 
he would make abundant provision for them all in 
the land of Goshen. And this pleased Pharaoh also, 
and he promised them the good of all the land of 
Egypt. 

And Jacob began his journey, and at Beersheba 
he offered sacrifices to the God of his father. And 
God appeared to him in a dream, and told him not 
to be afraid to go down into the land of Egypt, for 
the Lord would be with him, and make of him a 
great nation. 

When Jacob came down into Egypt he was pre- 
sented to Pharaoh, and blessed him; and Joseph gave 
his father and brethren a possession in the land of 
Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and he fed them 
with bread during all the years of famine. 

After living for seventeen years in Egypt, the time 
came when Jacob must die. He blessed the two 
sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh; and told 
Joseph that although he was now passing away, God 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



33 



would be with his posterity and bring tliem again 
into the land of Canaan. Then he blessed his twelve 
sons, foretelling what they and their descendants 
would become. Judah received the highest honor, 
for his descendants were declared to be the royal 
tribe, which would never be without a ruler until 
Shiloh should come/ and unto him should the gath- 
ering of the people be. After Joseph and Benjamin 
had received a very tender blessing, he commanded 
them to bury him in the land of Canaan, in the cave, 
in the field of Machpelah, which had been Abraham's 
burying-place. When Jacob died his body was em- 
balmed, or preserved with spices; and after seventy 
days the children of Israel went up with chariots and 
horsemen, a very great company, and buried him in 
the cave of Machpelah, as he had commanded. 

After the death of their father, the sons of Jacob 
were afraid that Joseph would now punish them for 
their former cruel behavior to him in selling him as 
a slave. When they confessed to him their fears, 
and that they had done wrong, and had asked his 
forgiveness, Joseph wept, and told them that though 
they had sold him into Egypt, and had intended to 
do him harm, God had turned it into good. So he 
comforted and spoke kindly to them, and assured 
them that he would provide for their households. 
When Joseph came to die, he told the children of 
Israel (as Jacob's descendants were henceforth called) 
that God would surely visit them, and bring them 
up into the land of Canaan. He also made them 
promise to carry his bones with them and lay them 
there. 



34 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER III 

THE OPPRESSION IN EGYPT — THE BIRTH OE MOSES — 
HE IS APPOINTED DELIVERER — THE PLAGUES OF 
EGYPT — PHARAOH LETS THE PEOPLE GO. 

MANY years after the death of Joseph and the 
good Pharaoh who had made him ruler in 
the land there rose up a king who knew 
not Joseph. This Pharaoh had become jealous of 
the growing wealth and greatness of the children 
of Israel in the land of Goshen, and he thought he 
would try and keep them down, in case, if there 
came war with a neighboring country, they might 
join his enemies. So he began to treat them like 
slaves; he set hard taskmasters over them, and made 
them make bricks and build treasure-houses for him 
— Pithom and Raamses. And he not only did this, 
but he ordered that all the Hebrew boys should be 
destroyed at their birth, thinking that in this way he 
would stop the increase of the Israelites in the land. 
There was one tender-hearted Hebrew mother who 
managed to hide her babe out of sight for three 
months, until she could hide him no longer. So 
she made a cradle of water-reeds, and daubed it with 
pit^h that it might not sink when put into the water, 
and then she placed it among the rushes at the edge 
of the river Nile. After a time it so happened that 
Pharaoh's daughter, coming down to the river to 
bathe, saw the cradle with the babe in it, and sent 
her maid to fetch it. The child cried as she looked 
at him, and taking pity upon him she ordered that 



H 

W 

5 
o 

5 

Q 

O 



o 
w 




36 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

the little foundling should be nursed for her by a 
Hebrew woman. And Miriam, the sister of the child, 
who had been standing afar off, went and fetched his 
own mother as nurse for him. And she nursed him 
for Pharaoh's daughter, and he was named Moses, 
which means u drawn out," because he had been 
drawn out of the water. 

The princess gave him the best education that 
could be had at that time; and he became learned in 
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. But although 
brought up at the court of Pharaoh he did not forget 
his own people. When he was forty years of age his 
spirit was stirred within him one day by seeing an 
Egyptian ill-treating one of his own nation. He 
took the part of the Hebrew, and slew the Egyptian, 
and buried his body in the sand. Next day, when 
he interfered again in another quarrel, he found that 
what he had done the day before was known, and he 
fled into the land of Midian. 

One day, as Moses sat beside a well in Midian, 
seven maidens came out with their father's sheep to 
water them, but could not do so because of the shep- 
herds there who tried to drive them away. Moses 
took their part, and helped them to water their sheep; 
and when the maidens went home they told their 
father that they had been helped by a stranger. So 
Moses was invited into the house of Jethro, and 
treated kindly, and he married one of Jethro's daugh- 
ters, called Zipporah. These Midianites were related 
to the children of Israel, for they were descended 
from Midian, a son of Abraham, who had gone to 
live in the eastward of the land of Canaan. 

Moses lived quietly in Midian for about forty years 




STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 37 

as a shepherd, in gradual preparation for the great 
work which lay before him. During this time the 
afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt increased. It 
had been revealed to Abraham that they would have 
to endure this cruel bondage for about four hundred 
years, and then a deliverer would arise. 

One day Moses was feeding his flock on the moun- 
tain of Horeb when he saw a bush burning with fire, 
yet not consumed. He turned aside to see this 
strange sight, when a voice called him by name out 
of the middle of the bush. He was told to put his 
shoes from off his feet, for the ground on which he 
stood was holy. It was God who spoke, and Moses 
hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. 
Then God told him how he had heard the cry and 
seen the affliction of his people in Egypt, and that 
he wished him to go to Pharaoh and ask him to 
let his people go, 

Moses did not think he was worthy to do this great 
work, and asked for a proof to give to his brethren 
that he was sent by God. He was told to say to 
them, I AM — which means the same as Jehovah, the 
everlasting God — hath sent me unto you. He was 
first to call together the chief men of Israel, and then 
go to Pharaoh, and ask leave for the children of 
Israel to go three days' journey into the wilderness 
to sacrifice to God. And in order that the people 
might not doubt his word he was given the power of 
working miracles. The rod which he held in his 
hand when cast to the ground became a serpent, and 
when he took hold of it again it became a rod. And 
also, when he put his hand into his bosom and took 
it out, it was covered with a terrible disease called 



38 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



leprosy; when he put it back again and took it not it 
became as whole as the other. Still Moses did not 
think he was quite equal to the task, because he was 
slow of speech; but God reproved him, and said, 
Now, therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, 
and teach thee what thou shalt say. Further, he 
was commanded to take his brother Aaron with him, 
who was ready and fluent of speech, and who would 
be his spokesman to the people. 

The first interview which Moses and Aaron had 
with Pharaoh seemed only to make the case of the 
people worse than before. Their taskmasters behaved 
more cruelly to them, and did not even give them 
straw to make bricks, but told them they might seek 
straw for themselves. And Moses cried to God, and in 
answer he was encouraged not to be afraid, for God 
would not forsake his people in their trouble, but 
would certainly remember his promise, and bring 
them safely into the land of Canaan. But the peo- 
ple were now so down-trodden and miserable, that 
they would scarcely believe that his promise would 
ever be fulfilled. 

And Moses and Aaron, by God's command, went 
a second time to the king; and Aaron threw down 
his rod before him, and it became a serpent. But the 
conjurors or magicians of the court made Pharaoh 
believe that they could do the same thing; and they 
also threw down their rods, which became serpents, 
but Aaron's rod swallowed theirs up. All this had 
no effect upon the mind of the king, who still hard- 
ened his heart. 

God now commanded Moses and Aaron to go to 
the brink of the Nile when the king came there in 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



39 



the morning, and Aaron was to stretch forth his rod 
over the waters of Egypt, and immediately they 
would be changed into blood, and the river would 
stink, and all the fish that were in it would die. 
Moses and Aaron obeyed the command, and all the 
rivers of Egypt were at once changed into blood. 
And . the magicians did so, or appeared to do so, 
with their enchantments, and the heart of Pharaoh 
remained as hard as ever. 

When seven days had expired, Moses went again 
to the king to ask that the children of Israel might 
be allowed to go, and told him that if he again re- 
fused the land would be visited with a plague of frogs. 
So when Aaron stretched his hand over the waters 
of Egypt, the frogs came up and covered the land. 
This plague was so troublesome that Pharaoh in dis- 
tress sent for Moses and Aaron, and asked them to 
take away the frogs ; so on the morrow Moses cried 
unto the Lord, and the plague of frogs was confined 
to the river. When Pharaoh saw that there was to 
be a respite, he again hardened his heart, and would 
not let the people go. 

The next plague sent on Pharaoh for his hardness 
of heart was that the dust of the earth became lice 
both on man and beast; but this also had no effect 
upon the heart of the king. Then a plague of flies 
was sent, which filled the houses of the Egyptians, 
so that the land was perfectly corrupted by them. 
Pharaoh relented again, and was willing to let them 
go until the plague was removed, when his heart 
remained as hard as ever. Next, disease was sent 
upon the cattle of the Egyptians, then grievous boils 
were sent upon man and beast, and thunder and hail, 



40 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



which worked havoc amongst the cattle and in the 
fields of the Egyptians. The next two plagues were 
locusts and darkness. But the heart of the king 
remained as hard as before until the last and most 
terrible plague of all, when all the first-born of man 
and beast were slain throughout the land. God had 
warned Moses that after this Pharaoh would let 
the children of Israel go. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE PASSOVER APPOINTED — THE FIRST-BORN OF 
THE EGYPTIANS SLAIN — THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 
DEPART — THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA — THE 
GIVING OF THE LAW — THE PLAN OF THE TABER- 
NACLE — FEASTS APPOINTED. 

SOME preparation was needed before the children 
of Israel should leave the land in which they had 
now lived for about four hundred and thirty years. 
They were therefore commanded to borrow of the 
Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold, and all 
other things necessary; and in memory of their de- 
liverance they were to celebrate the Lord's Passover; 
an ordinance which was to be kept up through all 
their generations. A lamb was to be killed and 
roasted during the night, and eaten with unleavened 
bread and bitter herbs. And they were to take of 
the blood and strike it on the two side-posts and the 
upper post of the doors of the houses in which they 
were eating it. The flesh of the lamb was to be 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 4I 

eaten with their loins girded, their shoes on their 
feet, and their staff in their hand. From the four- 
teenth day of the month until the twenty-first noth- 
ing but unleavened bread was to be found in any of 
their houses; and when the Lord would pass through 
to smite the first-born of the Egyptians all the doors, 
where the lintels and side-posts were sprinkled with 
blood, would be passed over. 

What the Lord had revealed to Moses came to 
pass. All the first-born in the land of Egypt, from 
Pharaoh on the throne to the captive in the dungeon, 
were smitten, as well as the first-born of cattle. A 
great cry was raised during the night, such as there 
had not been before nor since, when Pharaoh and the 
Egyptians discovered this terrible calamity. Moses 
and Aaron were at once sent for, and commanded to 
lead the children of Israel forth, for they said, We be 
all dead men. And the Lord gave them favor in the 
eyes of the Egyptians, so that they lent to the people 
jewels of silver and jewels of gold, and all that they 
required from them. And they departed in haste, a 
vast multitude, on foot. They first journeyed from 
Rameses to Succoth; and from thence they marched 
to Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. They had 
a sign that the Lord was leading them in a pillar of 
cloud which hung over them by day, but which be- 
came a pillar of fire at night, going before them to 
show the way. 

The heart of Pharaoh was not long in turning 
against the children of Israel after he had let them 
go, especially when it was told him that they were flee- 
ing from him. The Egyptians felt annoyed that 
they had allowed them to go away from serving 



42 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

them. So with their horses and chariots they pur- 
sued them, and came close to them beside Pihahiroth. 
The sight of their oppressors pursuing them caused 
the Israelites to become faint-hearted and tremble, 
and also to murmur against Moses for leading- them 
out thus to perish in the wilderness. Moses laid their 
trouble before the Lord, and the answer came, Speak 
to the children of Israel that they go forward. And 
the angel of God went from the front to the rear of 
the children of Israel, and the pillar of cloud hung 
behind them, between them and their enemies. 
And Moses at God's command stretched his rod over 
the waters of the Red Sea, and the waters went back 
all that night by a strong east wind, making the sea 
dry land, and the waters were divided. Into this 
pathway made for them in the waters the children 
of Israel marched, with a wall of water on their right 
hand and on their left, closely pursued by the 
Egyptians, who went in after them even to the midst 
of the sea. 

And the Lord looked down upon the Egyptians 
and troubled them, and commanded Moses to stretch 
his hand over the sea, and when he had done so, the 
sea returned in its strength, and all the Egyptians 
with their chariots and horsemen were swallowed 
up in the waters; but the children of Israel inarched 
safely over upon dry land. And on the other side 
Moses and the whole congregation of Israel sang a 
song of triumph unto the Lord about the overthrow 
of their enemies. And Miriam, the prophetess, the 
sister of Moses, took a timbrel in her hand, and 
followed by the women, she said, Sing ye to the 



H 



CO 

> 
W 

r 

H 

W 

c« 

> 

CO 

CO 

3 

O 
H 

O 

a 
o 

K 
H 

W 

# 

a 

CO 

M 




44 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse 
and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 

From the Red Sea they marched to the wilderness 
of Shur, where they wandered three days without 
finding water. Then they came to Marah, but the 
water there was so bitter that until Moses, at the 
command of the Lord, had cast a certain tree in it 
they could not drink. And here the promise of God 
came to them, that if they would hearken diligently 
to his voice, and do right in his sight, and keep his 
commandments, they would never be visited with 
the plagues which they had seen come upon the 
Egyptians. 

When they came to the wilderness of Sin, the 
people again began to murmur against Moses, and 
to long for the flesh-pots of Egypt which they had 
left behind them. They accused him of having 
brought them into the wilderness to perish of 
hunger. 

Then the word of the Lord came to Moses that 
the murmurings of the people had been heard, and 
that their wants were to be supplied in a miraculous 
way. In the evening a flight of quails came up and 
covered the camp, and the people gathered sufficient 
of them to supply their needs. In the morning, 
after the dew had gone up from the earth, a small 
round thing, as small as the hoar-frost, lay upon the 
ground. Moses told the people that this was the 
bread which God had provided for them, and they 
called it manna, which means, u What is this?" 
They were to gather a certain quantity every morn- 
ing; and when the sun grew hot the manna melted 
away. And if they kept it till next morning it bred 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 45 

worms and stank. On the sixth day they gathered 
a double quantity, as much as would last them over 
the seventh day, which was to be for them a day of 
rest. During all the forty years in which the 
children of Israel wandered in the desert they were 
fed with this manna, until they came unto the borders 
of the land of Canaan. 

The people again journeyed onward until they 
came to Rephidim. Here there was no water, and they 
were again angry at Moses, and were ready to kill him 
by casting stones at him. At the command of God 
Moses went with the chief men to the rock in Horeb, 
and struck the rock with his rod, and the waters 
gushed out and ran in the dry places like a river. 
Moses called the place Massah, or " temptation," be- 
cause the people had tempted the Lord to anger by 
their complainings, and Meribah, or " strife," be- 
cause of their threatening^ against Moses. 

Another trouble now came upon them. A power- 
ful tribe, descended from Duke Amalek, one of the 
grandsons of Esau, seeing such a host in the valley 
of Rephidim, came up behind them, and attacked 
the most defenceless of the host of Israel. Moses 
bade a young man named Joshua go forth and fight 
against them with a chosen band of men. He then 
ascended a hill near at hand, with Aaron and Hur, 
and when he held up his hand with his rod in it, 
Joshua had the best of the fight, but whenever he 
let down his hand through weariness then Amalek 
prevailed. When Moses grew weary in holding up 
his hands, a stone was placed for him upon which to 
sit, while Aaron and Hur stood, one on each side of 
him, and held up his hands. This continued until 



46 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

sunset, when Joshua had won the battle. A record 
of this fight was commanded to be kept, so that it 
could be read by future generations that they might 
know how God fought for them, and how they pre- 
vailed. Moses also built an altar, and called it 
Jehovah-nissi, u The Lord my Banner." 

Shortly after this great event Moses was visited by 
Jethro his father-in-law, who brought with him his 
daughter Zipporah, the wife of Moses, with her two 
sons, Gershom and Eliezer, who had remained 
behind in Midian for safety. Moses welcomed them, 
and told Jethro of the wonders which the Lord had 
wrought for them, which made his father-in-law 
rejoice, and say, Now I know that the Lord is 
greater than all gods. At that time Moses acted 
as the judge as well as the leader of the people, and 
he might be seen sitting all day hearing their 
troubles and disputes. Jethro saw that this was 
more than the strength of Moses could bear, and 
suggested that able men, who feared God and could 
be trusted, should be set over the people to judge 
them. This was done, and Moses was relieved of an 
arduous duty, only the hard causes being brought 
before him. 

After the children of 'Israel departed from Rephi- 
dim they came to the desert of Sinai, and encamped 
there. From the top of Mount Sinai God spoke to 
the people in a thick cloud, with thunders and 
lightnings and the voice of a trumpet, so that all the 
people trembled. The mount seemed altogether on 
a smoke, for the Lord descended upon it in fire. 
Moses was called up to the top of the mount with 
Aaron, while the people waited below, and the Lord 



O 
w 
W 

> 


H 

W 

H 

W 

z 

n 

o 

s 
> 

b 
g 

w 




4 8 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



delivered to them the commandments which were to 
be kept by themselves and their children. Unto 
Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of 
the elders of Israel, was the vision of the glory of 
the God of Israel given. And again Moses was 
called up into the mount, and remained beneath the 
shadow of the cloud forty days and forty nights, 
until the Lord had delivered to him the plan of the 
tabernacle, and all its furniture, which he was to 
build for the worship of the one true God. 

When Moses was absent from the camp on Mount 
Sinai, the people at the foot of the mount grew im- 
patient of his return, and complained to Aaron, and 
asked him to make them idols, such as were wor- 
shipped by heathen nations, for as for this Moses 
they did not know what had become of him. So 
Aaron asked them to bring their jewels of gold, and 
these he melted, and made into a golden calf. And 
when the people saw it they said this was the god 
which had brought them up out of the land of 
Egypt. And Aaron built an altar before it, and 
offered sacrifice to it instead of to the Lord, and there 
was a great feast, and the people danced before the calf. 

And God told Moses while on the mount what the 
people were doing in his absence; and he hastened 
down from the mount, and as he drew near with 
Joshua, he heard the noise of singing and dancing in 
the camp. Moses was so angry when he saw the 
people dancing before the golden calf that he threw 
the two tables of stone out of his hand upon which 
the commandments were written, and they were 
broken in pieces. And Moses took the calf, and 
burned it with fire, and ground it into dust, and 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 4 g 

strewed it amongst water, and made the children of 
Israel drink of this water. Then Moses stood at the 
gate of the camp and asked all those who were on 
the Lord's side to come beside him. Then the chil- 
dren of Levi came to him, and he commanded them 
to go through the camp and slay every man they 
should meet, because of their great sin in worship- 
ping the golden calf. And Moses prayed to God for 
the people, and confessed their sin, and asked for- 
giveness for them. 

After this Moses was commanded by God to make 
two tables of stone like to those which he had 
broken, and early in the morning he went up to the 
top of Mount Sinai alone, and again interceded in 
prayer for the sins of the people. And God heard 
him, and took them to be his people again; and he 
commanded Moses to write on the two tables of 
stone the words of the ten commandments as follows: 

I. Thou shalt have none other gods but me. 

II. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven 
image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in 
heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the 
water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down 
to them, nor worship them : for I the Lord thy God 
am a jealous God, and visit the sins of the fathers 
upon the children, unto the third and fourth genera- 
tion of them that hate me, and show mercy unto 
thousands of them that love me, and keep my com- 
mandments. 

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him 
guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 

IV. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath 
4 



5 o STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

day. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all that thou 
hast to do; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of 
the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt do no manner 
of work, thou, and thy son and thy daughter, thy 
man-servant, and thy maid-servant, thy cattle, and 
the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six 
days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and 
all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: 
wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and 
hallowed it. 

V. Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy 
days may be long in the land which the Lord thy 
God giveth thee. 

VI. Thou shalt do no murder. 

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

VIII. Thou shalt not steal. 

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy 
neighbor. 

X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, 
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his 
servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor 
any thing that is his. 

When Moses came down from the mount his face 
shone with a heavenly brightness, for he had been 
communing with God ; and he bore the tables of stone 
in his hand upon which were written the command- 
ments. Aaron and the people were afraid to speak 
with him until he had put a veil upon his face. 

Then Moses told the people what God had com- 
manded him to do on Mount Sinai about the build- 
ing of the tabernacle; and he invited all those whose 
hearts were willing, to bring him suitable gifts of 
what they possessed, and those who were clever 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



51 



workmen at any special trade he also invited to assist 
in building the tabernacle. Before the Hebrews had 
left . Egypt they had borrowed of the Egyptians 
jewels of silver and gold, and many valuable and 
useful things. These were now of great service, and 
so were the skilled workmen, who had learned to 
weave cloth and make useful articles during their 
sojourn in Egypt. And the people came, both men 
and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and 
brought gold, and precious stones, and cloth, blue, 
purple and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair. 
And these offerings of the people were publicly given 
to the skilled workmen, Bezaleel and Aholiab, in 
order that they might proceed with the work for 
which such abundance of material had been brought. 
This tabernacle, which was to be the visible sign 
of the presence of God with the children of Israel 
and their meeting- place with him, was both beauti- 
ful and costly. It was divided into two parts, the 
holy place and the holy of holies, which were 
separated from one another by a beautiful curtain 
called the veil. In the holy place stood the golden 
altar of incense, having on its north side the table of 
shew-bread, which consisted of twelve loaves of fine 
flour, and on its south side a golden candlestick. On 
this candlestick were seven lamps, one on each 
branch, ornamented with golden flowers. The lamps 
were kept burning constantly, only pure olive-oil 
being used for them. In the holy of holies stood 
the ark of the covenant, which was made of shittim- 
wood covered with gold; this ark held the tables of 
the law, and a golden pot filled with manna, which was 
to be kept through all their generations. The top 



52 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



of the ark, where a golden cherub with outstretched 
wings stood at each end, was called the mercy-seat. 
Here the Lord met with Moses, and talked to him 
from above the mercy-seat, between the cherubim. 

The sides of the tabernacle were of boards covered 
with gold, with a curtain of many colors for a door; 
it stood within an enclosure, which was surrounded 
by pillars of brass, and hangings of fine linen of 




THE TABI/E OF SHKW-BREAD. 

many-colored needlework. In front of the taber- 
nacle and within this court stood an altar and a 
laver; this altar was for burnt offerings, and the 
laver, which was of brass, held water in which the 
priests washed their hands before entering the taber- 
nacle itself. The whole structure was so made that 
it could be easily carried about with the children of 
Israel in their desert wanderings. 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



S3 



Aaron was appointed high priest, and his four sons 
were set apart for the priest's office, to assist him; 
and suitable garments were made for them. For the 
high priest there was a breast-plate of fine twined 
linen and of work of many colors, folded square, 
in which were set twelve stones in gold, each stone 
bearing the name of one of the twelve tribes of 




THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. 

Israel. Then there was a garment called an ephod, 
for Aaron to wear, made of fine linen of many colors, 
which was fastened with an onyx stone to each 
shoulder. A robe or coat was made to be worn 
under the ephod, all of blue, and round its lower edge 
were hung pomegranates of blue and purple and 
scarlet, between which were golden bells, which 



54 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



would ring as the high priest went out and in to the 
tabernacle. On the mitre for Aaron's head were 
inscribed the words " Holiness to the Lord." 

When the work of the tabernacle was finished, 
Moses looked over it all, and saw that it was made 
as God had commanded. And when it was set up, 
the pillar of the cloud that had gone before the 
children of Israel came down over the tabernacle; 
and the glory of the Lord filled it, so that Moses 
could not go within it. And so it became the place 
where God spoke to Moses, from the cloud over the 
mercy-seat. 

The people were then called together for the con- 
secration of the tabernacle to the service of the 
Lord. And as they stood round the door of the 
tabernacle, Moses washed Aaron and his sons with 
water, and put on them their beautiful garments, 
and anointed them with oil. And thus Aaron and 
his sons were set apart for the priesthood, to offer up 
sacrifices to God for the sins of the people. 

The tabernacle was finished on the first day of the 
first month, and the seven lamps upon the golden 
candlestick were lighted, and sweet incense was 
offered upon the altar. And Aaron took a lamb, and 
killed it, and laid it upon the altar as an offering to 
God for the sins of the people. And the Lord sent 
fire, which burned up the lamb, and the people gave 
a great shout in token that the sacrifice had been ac- 
cepted. After this the fire was kept burning upon 
the altar continually. 

Moses now received commands from God as to the 
different kinds of sacrifice which were to be offered 
up, the highest kind being the burnt-sacrifice with 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 55 

blood. The priests were ordered to offer up a lamb 
in the morning and in the evening for the sins of 
the whole people. On the Sabbath-day two lambs 
and two kids were offered morning and evening. 
And if any man repented him of his sins, he brought 
an ox, or a sheep, or a goat to the door of the taber- 
nacle. Then he put his hand upon its head, which 
meant that he transferred his -sins to the animal; 
after which it was killed, and the priests burnt it 
upon the altar as a sacrifice to God. This was called 
a burnt-offering. But when a man wished to thank 
God especially for some blessing which he had re- 
ceived, or wished to ask for some blessing, the ani- 
mal was only partly burned, and was eaten partly by 
the priests and by the man for whom the sacrifice 
was offered. This kind of sacrifice was called a 
peace-offering. Sacrifices offered for pardon of sins 
done in ignorance of what was right were called sin- 
offerings. Those for particular sins or trespasses 
were called trespass-offerings. The offering of any 
kind of meat, such as flour, oil or herbs, was called 
the meat and drink offering, which was burned or 
poured out upon the altar. The best of everything 
was only to be given in all these sacrifices. 

Three feasts to God were also appointed to be held 
every year: the feast of the passover, the feast of 
pentecost and the feast of tabernacles. The first 
of these, as already explained, was in memory of 
the night when the Lord killed the first-born of the 
Egyptians but passed over the children of Israel, and 
of their deliverance from the house of bondage. 
The second was a festival for the harvest; and the 
last a special thanksgiving for the safe ingathering 



5 6 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

of the fruits of the earth. The feast of tabernacles 
lasted seven days, during which time the people dwelt 
in booths, in remembrance of the time when they 
were brought out of the land of Egypt. 

There were other festivals : the festival of the 
Sabbath, which was a day of rest; the festival of 
the new moon every month; and on the first day of 
the seventh month the feast of trumpets, when 
trumpets were blown to call it to the mind of the 
people. The seventh or Sabbatical year was to be ob- 
served when they got to the land of Canaan, and in 
that year the land was allowed to rest; but to make 
up for this, God was to cause the sixth year to bring 
forth fruit for three years. The feast of jubilee was 
the feast of the fiftieth year; it was a year of rest, 
in which there was neither sowing nor reaping. 

Every year there was to be a great fast, called the 
day of atonement; this was the only day in the year 
in which the high priest was to enter the holy of 
holies, and before he entered he was to offer sacri- 
fices for his own sins and the sins of the people. 
When he came out he was to take a goat which had 
not been sacrificed, and lay his hands upon it, and 
confess the sins of the people, putting them upon 
the head of the animal, which was called the scape- 
goat. Then this animal was to be led away to the 
wilderness, to wander whither it would. 

Some days after the consecration of the tabernacle, 
Nadab and Abihu, two of the newly-consecrated 
priests, offered incense with strange fire before the 
Lord, which he commanded them not. And there 
went out fire from the Lord and devoured them. 
And Moses commanded that Aaron and his family 



o 
> 

o 

H 

W 



in 

O 

W 

( W 

U 



►d 



H 

> 
> 

> 

O 

> 

2 
S 
c 




58 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

should not mourn for them. God warned the people 
at this time against imitating some of the heathen 
nations amongst whom they would sojourn, in offer- 
ing up their children to a huge brass idol called 
Molech. This idol had the face of a calf, and was 
hollow inside, and a fire was lighted within it. And 
after the fire was lighted, and the idol was made very 
hot, these heathens placed their children in its arms 
until they were burned to death. And God told 
them also that if they walked in the way of his 
commandments he would prosper them ; but he 
warned them that if they forgot to serve him, sick- 
ness and trouble would be sent upon them, until 
they turned their hearts again to him. 



CHAPTER V 

THE MARCH THROUGH THE WILDERNESS — MIRIAM 
STRUCK WITH LEPROSY— THE SPIES SENT OUT — 
THE REBELLION OF KORAH — THE DEATH OF 
AARON — THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 

THE time now came for the people to leave Mount 
Sinai, where they had remained about a year, 
and continue their journey towards the land of 
Canaan. This had been an eventful year for them. 
God had communed with Moses on Sinai, and given 
him laws to regulate the conduct of the people, the 
ten commandments; also the plan of the tabernacle, 
which had now 7 been built, and all the rules whereby 
they were to worship him by means of the tabernacle 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 59 

service. They were now divided into thirteen tribes, 
each of whom was descended from one of the sons 
of Jacob or of Joseph. The names of the tribes were 
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, 
Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh and 
Benjamin. And the men who were able to go out 
to war were counted, and found to number six hun- 
dred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 
But the children of Levi were not counted for war, 
but were set apart for the service of the tabernacle. 
No one save the priests and Levites was to come near 
or touch anything belonging to it, because it was con- 
secrated to the service of the Lord. And the men 
of the tribe of Levi were appointed to take down the 
tabernacle, and to carry it when on their journey, 
and assist in the work required in connection with it 
when it remained in the camp. When the Levites 
were numbered, it was found that there were of them 
eight thousand five hundred and eighty men. And 
twelve princes from the twelve tribes brought six 
covered wagons and twelve oxen, along with many 
gold and silver articles, for use in the service of the 
tabernacle. 

Whenever the tabernacle was set up, the pillar of 
cloud, which was the color of a cloud by day and of 
fire by night, came and stood over the tabernacle; 
and whenever this cloud was lifted up, the children 
of Israel knew it was time to start again on their 
journey, and whenever it stopped they stopped also. 
It was the visible presence of God in their midst. 
When the people were to be gathered together, or 
when they were about to march, the priests sounded 
two silver trumpets. When marching they carried 



60 STORY OP THE OLD TESTAMENT 

standards or banners, each tribe moving in order, 
with the Levites in their midst bearing the taber- 
nacle. When they stopped to make their camp 
anywhere, the tabernacle was set up in their midst, 
with the tents of the Levites beside it, and those of 
the different tribes all round it. There they remained 
until ready to move forward again. 

At last the cloudy pillar rose from the tabernacle, 
and the people left Mount Sinai and followed it for 
three days into the wilderness of Paran. They be- 
came very discontented on this journey, and com- 
plained, Who shall give us meat to eat? We 
remember the fish that we had in Egypt; the cucum- 
bers, the melons and the onions; but now our soul 
is dried away. This complaining caused the Lord 
to be displeased with them. And Moses entreated 
the Lord that he might be delivered from the lead- 
ership of the people; it was more than he was able 
to bear. And God answered Moses, and said he 
would send them flesh for a whole month. Moses 
unbelievingly doubted if all the thousands which he 
saw around him could be fed with flesh for that time; 
and the Lord reproved Moses for his want of trust 
in him. Then the Lord sent a wind which brought 
quails from the sea, and the ground around the camp 
was covered with them. The people gathered them 
in abundance, but there was no blessing with them, 
for a plague broke out amongst them, so that many 
of them died. And Moses called the place Kibroth- 
hattaavah, because there they buried the people that 
lusted for flesh. 

They now journeyed to a place called Hazeroth, 
and there encamped. About this time Miriam, the 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 6 1 

sister of Moses and Aaron his brother, became jeal- 
ous of Moses. They spoke against him because he 
had married a wife who did not belong to the tribes 
of Israel. They also said, Hath the Lord indeed 
spoken only by Moses ? hath he not spoken also by 
us? And the Lord was displeased with them for 
this, and called Aaron and Miriam before him, and 
rebuked them ; and Miriam was stricken with 
leprosy because of her sin; then Aaron was seized 
with remorse, and entreated Moses to intercede for 
them; but Miriam was shut outside the camp for 
seven days. Moses then prayed the Lord to heal 
her, and his prayer was heard. 

When the Israelites had reached the wilderness of 
Paran they were not far from the land of Canaan, 
and Moses said to them, Behold the Lord thy God 
hath set the land before thee; go up and possess it, 
as the Lord God of thy fathers hath" said unto thee: 
fear not, neither be discouraged. But the people 
asked that men might be sent to look at the land 
and report what they saw. So twelve men were 
chosen, one from each tribe, and amongst them were 
Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of 
Nun. 

These spies, as they were called, went forth to 
look at the land, and returned after forty days. To 
show the fruitfulness of the country, they brought 
away from Eshcol a bunch of grapes so large that it 
took two men to carry it. They also brought with 
them some pomegranates and figs, and said that the 
land was a fruitful land, but that the cities were very 
strong, with high walls round them. They had also 
seen giants, the people of Anak and the Amalekites; 



62 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

and they all, except Caleb and Joshua, tried to frighten 
the people, and persuade them not to go up against 
such warlike tribes. This made the Israelites dis- 
contented, and they murmured that they would 
rather have died in Egypt, or in the wilderness, and 
they even wanted to choose a captain to lead them 
back. 

• But Caleb and Joshua advised the people to go up 
to Canaan, and said the land was an exceeding good 
land, and that God would fight for them. Whereat 
the people were angry, and threatened to stone them. 
And the Lord was displeased because of their want 
of faith in him, and Moses entreated the Lord in 
their behalf. And the Lord said to Moses that he 
would pardon them, but not one of the murmurers, 
from twenty years old and upwards, should enter the 
promised land, but should perish in the wilderness. 
After forty years, when they had passed away, their 
children would go up to this good land; but none 
would be allowed to enter into Canaan save Caleb 
and Joshua, because of their good report. At the 
command of God Moses was to lead the people back 
towards the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, 
and they were to wander there for forty years. Some 
of the people thought that they might still go up 
to the good land, although Moses had warned them 
that God had forbidden them: and these headstrong 
people started on their journey without the ark or 
Moses to guide them. But they were attacked, and 
scattered, and killed by the Amalekites and the Ca- 
naanites, at Honnah. 

Now after this time a rebellion against Moses and 
Aaron took place in the camp. The ringleaders 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 63 

were named Korah, Da than and Abiram, and two 
hundred and fifty princes of Israel followed them. 
They said to Moses and Aaron, Ye take too much 
upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy. 
Wherefore lift ye up yourselves above the congrega- 
tion ? 

After inquiring of the Lord what he ought to do, 
Moses bade Korah and his company come on the 
morrow with lighted censers before the tabernacle. 
Even to-morrow, he said, the Lord would show who 
were his and who were holy, and he asked them why 
they were not content w T ith their present duties that 
they should covet the office of priest also. On the 
following day Korah and his company came up to 
the tabernacle with their censers and fire in them, 
and sprinkled incense on the fire just as the priests 
did. All those who joined in this rebellion crowded 
around to witness w r hat the result would be. And 
the Lord told Moses to w r arn the people, and he said, 
Separate yourselves from among this congregation, 
that I may consume them in a moment. Moses 
prayed for them, and the Lord warned the people to 
separate themselves from the evil-doers, lest they 
should be destroyed along with them. If they died 
a strange death, then all the people would know that 
the anger of the Lord had been kindled against 
them. 

When Moses had. done warning the people, the 
earth suddenly opened and swallowed up Korah, 
Dathan and Abiram, and all who were with them. 
They went down alive, crying out; and all the people, 
in terror at this judgment of God, fled from the place, 
in case the same calamity should overtake them also, 



6 4 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



And fire went forth from the Lord and consumed the 
two hundred and fifty princes who had followed 
Korah. 

Next day the people seemed to have entirely for- 
gotten the lesson they had just received, for they 
murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, Ye 
have killed the people of the Lord. And the Lord 
sent forth a plague by which fourteen thousand and 
seven hundred persons perished, besides Korah and 
they that perished with him. 

In order to show the people whom he had chosen 
to be his high priest, God commanded Moses to ask 
a man of each of the twelve tribes to bring a rod, 
which was to be placed in the holy of holies before 
the ark. On each rod the name of the person who 
brought it was written. Next day one of the rods 
had blossomed and borne almonds; this was the rod 
upon which was Aaron's name. This rod God com- 
manded Moses to put back into the tabernacle again, 
to be kept as a perpetual memorial of his choice of 
Aaron and his descendants to the office of high priest. 
Then the Lord gave instructions as to the position 
of the tribe of Levi in the work of the tabernacle, 
and warned them against the sin of Korah, Dathan 
and Abiram, and ordered what proportion of the of- 
ferings of the people should belong to them and to 
the priests. The tribe of Levi when they came to 
the promised land were not to have any portion of 
the country allotted to them, because the Lord was 
to be their portion, and hence the people must make 
some provision for them. 

When we next get a glimpse of the life of the 
children of Israel in the desert, we find that they had 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



65 



wandered there about thirty-eight years, being fed 
with manna from the Lord, and so cared for by him 
that they were never footsore, neither did their 
clothes wear out. They again arrived near the place 
where they had murmured at first on their journey, 
and came to the desert of Ziu, where Miriam, the 
sister of Moses, died and was buried. Although 
those who had sinned by murmuring before were 
nearly all dead, yet we find the people again discon- 
tented. They began to say that they would rather 
have died with their brethren in the wilderness, for 
the place they were now in yielded neither seed, nor 
figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither was there 
any water to drink. 

And Moses and Aaron went to the Lord with the 
complaint of the people, and the Lord spoke to Moses, 
and told him to take his rod, and gather the assem- 
bly of the people together, and speak to the rock, 
and water would flow from it. And when the con- 
gregation of the people was gathered together, Moses 
and Aaron spoke angrily to them and said, Hear 
now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of the 
rock? And Moses smote the rock twice, and water 
flowed forth abundantly, and there was plenty for 
man and beast. But the Lord was displeased with 
Moses and Aaron because they had not sanctified him 
before the congregation of the people, therefore he 
told them they would not be honored to lead the 
people into the land of promise. 

And they journeyed to Mount Hor, where the word 

of the Lord came that Aaron was to die. And Aaron 

and Eleazar, his son, went up with Moses to Mount 

Hor, and Aaron was stripped of his priestly gar-- 

5 



66 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

ments, and they were put upon his son,, who suc- 
ceeded him in his office. And Aaron died there, and 
the people mourned for him thirty days. 

As they journeyed from Mount Hor by way of the 
Red Sea, the people were so much discouraged be- 
cause of the way that they murmured against Moses 
again. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among 
them, which bit them, so that many of them died. 
Then the people confessed to Moses that they had 
sinned in murmuring, and asked him to entreat the 
Lord on their behalf. And Moses prayed for the 
people, and at God's command made a serpent of 
brass and set it upon a pole, and every one who 
looked at this serpent, although they were bitten, 
lived. 

The children of Israel wished to pass on their way 
to Canaan in a peaceable manner if possible, and sent 
messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, whose 
country they were approaching, that he would let 
them pass through his land. They would not meddle 
with his vineyards, but would pass along the high- 
way of his country. Sihon refused this request, and 
sent out an army to fight against them. But Israel 
prevailed, and took all his cities. And Og, king of 
Bashan, also rose against them, but the Lord deliv- 
ered him into their hands, and they smote him and 
all his people with the edge of the sword. 



68 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER VI 

THE BLESSING OF BALAAM— THE DEATH OF MOSES 
— JOSHUA APPOINTED TO BE LEADER — THE FALL 
OF JERICHO — THE VICTORY OVER THE FIVE KINGS 
— THE DEATH OF JOSHUA. 

THE children of Israel now marched forward and 
encamped on the plains of Moab. And Balak, 
the king of Moab, sent a message to Balaam, 
son of Beor, at Pethor, asking him to come and 
curse the children of Israel, so that he might pre- 
vail against them. But God warned Balaam, say- 
ing, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not 
curse the people: for they are blessed. 

So Balaam rose up in the morning, and told the 
princes of Balak to go back, because the Lord re- 
fused to allow him to curse the people. These men 
delivered their message to Balak, but he sent more 
princes with the same message. But Balaam said 
that although Balak was to give him his house full 
of silver and gold he could not go beyond the word 
of the Lord to do less or more. Then the Lord told 
Balaam to go with the messengers and speak the 
word which he would tell him. So Balaam rose up 
in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with 
them. 

But God was angry because he went, and the 
angel of the Lord stood in his way to stop him. 
And the ass upon which he rode saw the angel of 
the Lord standing with a drawn sword in his hand, 
and turned out of the way into a field, and would 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



69 



not go straight forward. And Balaam smote the 
ass to make it go straight forward, and as they were 
in a path between two vineyards the ass swerved 
aside and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall, so 
that he smote her again. And she fell down under 
him, and he smote the ass with a staff. And God 
gave the ass the power of speech, and it reasoned 
with him, and asked him if ever it had behaved in 
this manner before. And Balaam had his eyes 
opened, so that he saw the angel of the Lord with 
the drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his 
head and fell flat upon his face. And the angel told 
him that he had displeased God, and that he would 
have been slain had not the ass turned back three 
times. Then Balaam confessed that he had sinned, 
and offered to turn back, but the angel said, Go 
with the men; but only the words that I shall speak 
unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went 
with the princes of Balak. 

When the king of Moab heard that Balaam was 
coining, he went out to meet him, and the prophet 
explained to him that he had no power to say any- 
thing save what God would put in his mouth. And 
Balak made a feast; and next day he took Balaam 
to the top of a hill where they worshipped Baal, the 
false god, and offered sacrifices. And Balaam went 
to a place apart, and God met him and gave him a 
reply for Balak. It was this: How shall I curse, 
whom God hath not cursed ? or how shall I defy, 
whom the Lord hath not defied ? 

Balak was displeased at this, and twice again he 
tried to get Balaam to curse the people, the last 
time from the top of Mount Peor, where he could 



70 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



see the great host of Israel spread out before him. 
Here Balaam exclaimed, How goodly are thy tents, 

Jacob, and thy tabernacles, Israel ! As the 
valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the 
river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the 
Lord hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the 
waters. He closed with the words, Blessed is he 
that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth 
thee. 

And Balak was more displeased than ever, but 
Balaam reminded him that he had told his mes- 
sengers that though he were to give him a house 
full of silver and gold he could only utter the truth 
about God's chosen people. And here, with the 
country spread out before him, he said that the 
nations round about would perish, but that Israel 
would wax greater; and he uttered the prophecy: 

1 shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, 
but not nigh; there shall come a star out of Jacob, 
and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. 

Although Balak did not get Balaam to curse the 
children of Israel, his presence there had a bad in- 
fluence over them, for he taught them to worship 
idols by inviting them to the feasts of the Midian- 
ites and Moabites. For this sin they were plagued 
by God, and many thousands of them were slain. 

At the command of God Moses and Eleazar again 
numbered the people, to see how many men there 
were of twenty years and upwards fit for war. It 
was now found that of all the people numbered in 
the wilderness only two, Caleb and Joshua, were 
alive. These were the two spies who had brought 
back the truthful report from the promised land. 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



71 



The time was now at hand when Moses was to 
die, and at God's command Joshua was appointed 
in his stead. Before he died Moses gathered the 
people together, and spoke serious and earnest 
words to them. He reminded them of all the good- 
ness of the Lord in their wanderings in the wilder- 
ness, and of their frequent disobediences. He told 
them they were to teach the commandments of God 
to their children, talk about them in the house, 
when they were walking outside, and when they 
rose in the morning. And the sum of them was: 
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
might. 

After Moses had blessed Joshua before all the 
people, and exhorted him to be strong and of a good 
courage, they went together into the tabernacle, 
where God spoke to them of his good pleasure 
regarding his chosen people. And Moses wrote all 
the words of the law and gave them to the Levites 
to keep. He also wrote a song which they were to 
teach to their children, and this song contained a 
prophecy that the time would come when all nations 
would rejoice with his people, when the Lord would 
be merciful to them again. Moses then went up 
from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top 
of Pisgah, where God gave him a view of the 
promised land, which he was not to be allowed to 
enter. The Lord said, This is the land which I 
sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, 
saying, I will give it unto thy seed; I have caused 
thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go 
over thither. 



72 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

And Moses was one hundred and twenty years old 
when he died upon the top of the mount. No man 
knew his burial-place, for the Lord buried him in 
a valley of Moab. And the people mourned for 
him thirty days in the plains of Moab. We read 
that there had not arisen in Israel a prophet like 
unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 

And the word of the Lord came to Joshua that 
Moses was dead, and that he was to arise and be- 
come their leader, and take the children of Israel 
across the Jordan into the land of Canaan. The 
promise was given to him, As I was with Moses, so 
I will be with thee; I will not fail thee nor forsake 
thee. He was also commanded to be strong and of 
a good courage; and if he made the law of God the 
law of his" life, then the Lord would make his way 
prosperous. 

Joshua now began to prepare to cross the Jordan 
and enter the land of promise. He sent two spies 
across into Jericho to report as to the strength of 
the city; and they hid from the king of Jericho in 
the house of a woman named Rahab. When it was 
reported that they were in the city, she concealed 
them under some flax on the roof of the house; and 
when the officers came to seek for them she made 
them believe they had escaped. Then when the 
men who sought them were gone, she let the spies , 
down over the city wall by a rope. Before doing so 
she made them promise that when the Israelites 
came and took the city, they would spare her and 
her friends from death. When the spies returned 
to the camp of Joshua, they assured him that God 



H 

X 

w 

w 

G 

£ 
r 

> 
o 
w 

o 

o 
w 




74 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



had surely given them the land, as the people were 
in terror because of them. 

Early in the morning Joshua led the people to 
the brink of the Jordan, where they stayed three 
days. On the morning of the fourth day, at the 
command of Joshua, the priests took the ark and 
marched forward; and as soon as their feet touched 
the water, the water parted before them, and they 
walked to the centre of the river, where they re- 
mained with the ark. The people then walked 
over on dry ground, as they had done through the 
Red Sea. And as soon as they had all passed over, 
the waters came back again and covered the path- 
way they had trodden, and flowed on as before. 

As Joshua left the camp to survey the walls of 
Jericho, he saw a man standing with a drawn sword 
in his hand. And Joshua asked him whether he 
was for or against him, when he answered, As cap- 
tain of the Lord's host am I come ; and Joshua bowed 
down and worshipped him, for it was the Lord. 
And lie told Joshua to cause all the men of war to 
march round the city once every day for six days, 
and the ark was also to be carried round by the 
priests. Seven priests were to march before the ark 
and blow trumpets of rams' horns. On the seventh 
day they were to march round Jericho seven times, 
and the priests were to blow with trumpets. Then 
when they heard a loud blast with the trumpets, 
the men of Israel were to shout, and the walls of 
Jericho would fall down, and they would be able to 
enter in and take possession of it. And they did as 
the Lord had commanded; and the last time that 
the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua ordered 



H 
HI 
W 

sa 
>- 
w 

H 
W 

in 

& 

in 

3 

O 
H 

O 

c 

Q 

H 

H 
W 



o 
o 
2 




yS STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

them to shout. And as they did so, the walls of 
the city fell flat, and they took possession of Jericho. 
As had been promised, Rahab, who had concealed 
the spies, with her father and mother and brothers, 
were saved, and dwelt among the children of Israel. 

After Jericho was taken, Joshua sent out spies to 
report upon a city called Ai. And these spies re- 
ported that Ai could be easily taken by two or three 
thousand men. So Joshua sent up about three 
thousand men against the city ; but the men of Ai 
came out after them, and drove them down the hill, 
smiting and killing many of them. This dis- 
couraged the Israelites, and Joshua cried to God not 
to deliver them up to their enemies. And the Lord 
commanded him to rise up from the ground, telling 
him that the children of Israel had sinned in keep- 
ing back some of the spoil of Jericho which the 
Lord had commanded them to deliver up for his 
service. And Joshua called out the people, and the 
Lord showed him the man who had sinned. His 
name was Achan, and he confessed that he had been 
tempted to take a beautiful garment and some pieces 
of silver and gold, and these he had hid under his 
tent. And they sent and found the things^ under 
Achan's tent. And Achan and his sons and daugh- 
ters and all that he had were destroyed, and 
stones w 7 ere cast upon them, and they were burned 
with fire. And the place where this was done was 
called Achor, which means " trouble." So after 
they had put from among them the accursed thing, 
God gave them the victory over the men of Ai. 

While the Israelites were at Gilgal, the place at 
which they had rested after crossing the Jordan, the 



H 

X 

> 



w 

i— i 
o 

o 




78 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



kings of the land banded together in order to fight 
against them. The people of Gibeon, knowing that 
the Lord was with the Israelites to give them the 
land, acted in a very deceitful manner. A party of 
the Gibeonites came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal 
in order to make peace with him. Their shoes were 
worn out, as if they had come a long journey, their 
clothes were old, and the bread which they showed 
to Joshua was dry and mouldy-looking. Joshua and 
the princes of Israel, deceived by these signs, 
thought that these Gibeonites had really come a 
long journey, and without laying the matter before 
the Lord made a treaty of peace with them. When 
it was discovered that they had only come a little 
way to the camp, and that they were one of the 
tribes which God had called upon them to destroy, 
Joshua summoned them before him, and asked them 
why they had acted thus. The Gibeonites answered 
that it was because they were sore afraid of their 
lives that they had done this thing. But because 
Joshua had promised in a solemn manner not to kill 
them, he delivered them out of the hands of the 
people, but ordered that they should be made 
hewers of wood and drawers of water for the 
Israelites and for the altar of the Lord. 

When the king of Jerusalem heard what these 
Gibeonites had done in making peace with the 
Israelites, he was afraid, and united with other four 
kings, and came up against Gibeon. Then the Gib- 
eonites asked Joshua to come with his army and 
help them against these five kings. And the Lord 
told Joshua not to be afraid, for he had delivered 
these enemies into his hand. So Joshua with his 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



79 



fighting men went up to the help of the Gibeonites, 
and the five kings fled before them. And as they 
were fleeing the Lord rained great hailstones from 
heaven upon them, so that more perished by the 
hailstones than were slain by the sword. 

And as the Israelites pursued their enemies, the 
daylight began to fail, and Joshua prayed to God to 
lengthen the day. And God did so by causing the 
sun to stand still upon Gibeon and the moon in the 
valley of Ajalon, so that the people had light until 
the armies of the five kings were destroyed. But 
the five kings themselves escaped, and were hidden 
in a cave, to which Joshua caused the people to roll 
great stones. So they were prisoners there, and 
were taken out and hanged when the battle was 
finished. And the Lord was with the Israelites, and 
delivered into their hand one city after another, 
until they took the whole land, when they had rest 
for a time from w T ar. 

Joshua being now old, and having not long to 
live, he gathered the people together before the 
tabernacle, and cast lots for them before the Lord, 
in order that the land might be equally divided 
among the tribes. To the Levites no inheritance 
in land was given ; but they received forty-eight 
cities, of which six were to be cities of refuge, to 
which those who had shed blood unwittino-lv mi^ht 
fly and be safe. And thus the Lord gave unto Israel 
all the land which he swore to give unto their 
fathers ; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. 
And the Lord gave them rest round about. And 
the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half tribe 
Manasseh, who had been foremost in fighting 



80 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

against their enemies, returned laden with spoil to 
the land on the other side of Jordan which had been 
given to them by Moses. And they built an altar 
on a high hill on the borders of their land, to show 
that they were one in faith with the people of 
Israel. 

Before Joshua died he bade farewell to the elders 
and chiefs, and told them to take good heed unto 
themselves that they loved the Lord their God. 
He also gathered all the people to him at Shechem, 
and reviewed their wonderful history, and asked 
them to choose that day whom they would serve, 
adding, As for me and my house, we will serve the 
Lord. And the people answered that they also 
would serve the Lord. And Joshua made a cove- 
nant with them, and wrote it in the book of the law 
of God. He also set up a stone pillar as a witness, 
under an oak-tree at Shechem. And so Joshua let 
the people depart every man unto his inheritance. 
And Joshua was one hundred and ten years old when 
he died, and they buried him in Mount Ephraim. 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 8 1 



CHAPTER VII 

THE TIME OF THE JUDGES — DEBORAH AND BARAK 
DEFEAT THE CANAANITES — THE PEOPLE OP- 
PRESSED BY MIDIANITES — GIDEON DELIVERS 
THEM — THE STORY OF JEPHTHAH. 

WE come now to the period in the history of the 
children of Israel called the time of the 
JUDGES. God had allowed many of the 
enemies of Israel still to live in Canaan in order that 
he might prove his people and see if they would 
drive them out and destroy them. The tribes of 
Judah and Simeon were the first to go to war 
against the Canaanites and Perizzites, and the other 
tribes followed ; but they displeased God in that, 
although they conquered the heathen, they did not 
utterly drive them out and destroy them, as they 
had been commanded. So these heathen people be- 
came as thorns in their sides, and their gods became 
snares to the Israelites ; for very soon they began to 
marry with them, and to commit idolatry. And 
God punished them by allowing them to fall into 
the hand of the king of Mesopotamia, whom they 
served eight years. At the end of that time the 
Lord gave his Spirit to Othniel, who was the first of 
the Judges ; and the Israelites went out against the 
king of Mesopotamia, and freed themselves from his 
yoke. 

Othniel judged the people for forty years, and 
after his death they again fell into idolatry. Another 
punishment came upon them, for they fell into the 
6 



82 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

hands of Eglon, king of Moab, who, with Ammon 
and Amalek to help him, conquered them. After 
eighteen years had passed, and when the people had 
repented, another judge called Ehud was sent to 
them. And Ehud killed the king of Moab as he sat 
in his summer parlor. Then he summoned the 
people together, and led them against the army of 
Moab, and defeated it with great slaughter. 

The next judge over the people was Shamgar, who 
with an ox-goad slew six hundred of the Philistines. 
After that, a prophetess named Deborah was chosen 
to be judge over the people, who at that time were 
servants of the king of Canaan. And Deborah chose 
a man named Barak, and told him to lead ten thou- 
sand men of Israel against the king of Canaan, and 
the Lord would give him the victory. But Barak 
would only go if Deborah went with him; and she 
consented, but told him that the captain of the Ca- 
naanites would fall into the hands of a woman. 

Sisera, the Canaanitish captain, met the men of 
Israel with his nine hundred chariots of iron, and 
there was a great battle, in which the Israelites pre- 
vailed. A heavy storm flooded the river Kishon, 
where the battle was fought, so that it overflowed its 
banks, and swept away many of the combatants. 
Sisera escaped to the tent of Heber the Kenite, who 
was absent, but Jael his wife welcomed Sisera, and 
concealed him in her tent beneath a mantle. Being 
faint and weary from the battle she gave him milk, 
and he fell asleep. After this he awoke, and asked 
Jael to stand in the tent-door, so that if any one 
came after him, she might answer he was not there. 
She did so, pretending to be friendly with him. 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



83 



Sisera, feeling secure, again fell asleep, and while he 
was sleeping Jael took a hammer and a nail, and 
drove it through his temples. And thus Sisera died 
by the hand of a woman. And as Barak passed that 
way Jael asked him in and showed him Sisera lying 
dead on the ground. And Deborah and Barak made 
a song about this victory, which ends thus: So let 
all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that 
love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his 
might. 

After this the land had rest for forty years, when 
the Israelites again did evil, and were punished by 
being allowed to fall into the hands of the Midian- 
ites. They oppressed the people grievously, so that 
they were glad to take refuge in the dens and caves 
of the mountains. The Amalekites joined with the 
Midianites, and they overran the country, and de- 
stroyed the corn, the vineyards, and the olive-yards. 
In their distress the people cried to God, when a 
prophet w r as sent to reprove them for their sin. A 
judge was also raised up named Gideon, of the tribe 
of Manasseh. The call of the Lord came to Gideon 
when he was thrashing wheat. The angel of God 
said to him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty 
man of valor. And Gideon said, O my Lord, if the 
Lord be w r ith us, why then is all this befallen us? 
Then the Lord promised to be with him, and told 
him that if he led the Israelites up against the Mid- 
ianites, he would smite them as one man. Gideon 
could scarcely believe that all this was true, and 
asked for a sign. He then went and brought a kid 
and some unleavened cakes, which he put under the 
oak-tree for the angel to eat. The angel asked him 



8 4 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



to lay them upon a rock near by; which Gideon 
having done, the angel touched them with the end 
of a staff, and immediately fire came out of the rock 
and burnt the offering; and the angel departed. Then 
Gideon overthrew the altar which his father Joash 
had erected to Baal, and built one to the God of 
Israel. 

When the Midianites came and encamped in Jez- 
reel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and 
he sounded a trumpet, and called the children of Is- 
rael together to fight against them. Before going he 
sought for a sign that the Lord was with him. And 
he laid a fleece of wool on the floor, and asked 
that if God meant to save Israel by his hand, dew 
would be sent upon the fleece, but none upon the 
ground. So Gideon waited all night for an answer 
to his prayer. In the morning the fleece was wet, 
but the ground was dry. But he asked for yet an- 
other sign, that this time the ground should be wet 
and his fleece dry. And it was so; for it was dry 
upon the fleece only, and there was dew upon all the 
ground. 

Gideon, being now assured that the Lord was with 
him, gathered the Israelites together to do battle 
against Midian. But God commanded him that he 
should take but few with him, that the glory should 
be his only. So Gideon told all those who were 
fearful and afraid to depart from him at Mount Gil- 
ead. This caused twenty-two thousand men to leave 
him, and he was left with ten thousand. But the 
Lord said these were yet too many, and commanded 
that a test was to be made to be applied to decide 
who were to go with him. The army was taken 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



85 



to the brink of the river, and those only who dipped 
their hands into the water and lapped it like a dog- 
were chosen. Those who had knelt to drink were 
rejected, so that Gideon had now only three hundred 
men wherewith to go against the Midianites. 

Then God commanded Gideon to go down to the 
camp of the Midianites and take with him his ser- 
vant, and he would hear something which would 
help him to be strong and of a good courage. So 
Gideon and his servant went during the night and 
visited the camp of Midian; and they found the host 
to be like grasshoppers for multitude, and their 
camels without number. As they drew near to the 
camp Gideon heard one man telling his fellow a 
strange dream w 7 hich he had had. His dream was 
that u a cake of barley-bread tumbled into the host 
of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that 
it fell and overturned it." And the other man an- 
swered that doubtless his dream meant that Gideon 
the Israelite was to come up against them, and gain 
the victory over them. 

When Gideon heard this dream he worshipped 
God, and returned to his army, and said to them, 
Arise, for the Lord hath delivered into your hand 
the host of Midian. Then he divided his three hun- 
dred men into companies of a hundred each, and to 
every man he gave a trumpet, and a pitcher with a 
lighted lamp within it. Then he sent one of these 
divisions to one part of the valley, and one to an- 
other, while he led the third himself. And so they 
marched quietly on in the darkness towards the 
enemy. And Gideon said, When I blow with a 
trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye 



86 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and 
say, The sword of the Lord and of Gideon. And 
when they did so, the Midianites were startled by 
the noise of the trumpets and the breaking of the 
earthen pitchers, and when they saw the burning 
lamps it caused great confusion amongst them, and 
they fought against one another in the darkness. 
And the Lord made them afraid of the men of Israel, 
so that they fled towards the river Jordan. And the 
Israelites pursued after them, joined by numbers of 
their brethren, and followed them to Mount Ephraim. 
And Gideon slew two of their kings, the very same 
who had slain his own brothers long before. And 
he came to Jordan with his followers, and passed 
over, " faint, yeUpursuing. " So the land had rest 
forty years. 

After Gideon's death the Israelites again forgot the 
God of their fathers, and fell into sin. Then one of 
Gideon's seventy sons, named Abimelech, wishing 
to be made king over Israel, went to Shechem, his 
mother's city, and hired men, who went with him 
to his father's house, and he slew all his brothers but 
one, named Jotham, who escaped. He then returned 
to Shechem, and his mother's brethren made him 
king. 

But Abimelech was at last punished for his wick- 
edness. Having come up against a city called 
Thebez, where there was a strong tower, in wdiich 
the people of the city had taken refuge, he would 
have burned it, but a woman dropped a piece of a 
millstone upon his head, which broke his skull. 
Then he called upon his armor-bearer to draw his 
sword and slay him, so that men might not say that 



H 

K 

W 

O 
& 


o 

H 

w 

o 

> 
u 
o 



d 

w 
o 
2 



p 

iw' 






s£J 






J& 


vl 


■/S 




\P^ 


V 



lip 

Will 
iffpf 

I 



^\*« 







sii 



'^pPI 









88 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

a woman slew him. And so he died. And at his 
death the men he had gathered together returned 
every man to his place. 

After the death of Abimelech the Israelites were 
ruled by several judges, and on the death of one of 
them called Jair, they again became idolaters. And 
the Lord was displeased with them, and allowed 
them to fall into the hands of the Philistines. In 
their distress they cried unto God and confessed their 
sin ; but he answered them at first in words of reproof, 
asking them if he had not delivered them from the 
Egyptians and from the enemies they had encountered 
in Canaan, and telling them to go and cry unto the 
gods they had chosen. And they confessed their sin, 
and the Lord was grieved for the misery of his people. 

Then the Ammonites gathered together and en- 
camped in Gilead, and the children of Israel en- 
camped in Mizpeh. And the princes and people of 
Gilead longed for a leader who would take them up 
against the Ammonites. And they bethought them 
of a valiant man named Jephthah, whom they had 
formerly ill-treated, and who had fled from them. And 
they asked him to come and lead them against the 
Ammonites. But Jephthah upbraided them for hav- 
ing expelled him before, and asked them whether, if 
he defeated Ammon, they would make him their head. 
And the elders took God to witness that they would 
do according to Jephthah's word. So he went to the 
camp of Israel, and took the command, and sent a 
message to the king of Ammon asking why he 
made war against them. And the king, who only 
wanted an excuse for going to war, said it was be- 
cause the Israelites had taken his lands when they 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 89 

had come up out of Egypt. Jephthah sent back word 
that it was not so. And the Spirit of the Lord came 
upon him, and he went forth to meet the king of 
Amnion; but before going he made a solemn vow to 
God that if he gained the victory, whatsoever came 
forth from his house to meet him on his return should 
surely be the Lord's, and he would offer it up as a 
burnt-offering. 

The army of Israel was successful, and twenty 
cities were taken. And when Jephthah returned to 
his house, his daughter came out to meet him with 
her maidens playing on timbrels. And she was his 
only child. Jephthah, when he saw her, remem- 
bered his promise to the Lord, and he rent his 
clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter ! and told her 
of his vow. And she said unto her father, If thou 
hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me 
according to that which hath proceeded out of thy 
mouth. She only asked that she might be allowed 
to wander for two months among the mountains 
lamenting her fate, along with her companions. 
She went, and at the end of two months Jephthah 
fulfilled his vow. Ever afterwards it was a cus- 
tom in Israel for the young women to spend four 
days among the hills of Gilead lamenting Jeph- 
thah 7 s daughter. 



go 



STOAV OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE BIRTH OF SAMSON — HE IS CALLED TO BE 
JUDGE — HIS DEATH — THE STORY OF RUTH — THE 
BIRTH OF SAMUEL — ELI AND HIS SONS — SAMUEL 
CHOSEN TO BE PROPHET AND JUDGE. 

WHILE the children of Israel were again ser- 
vants to the Philistines, there lived in Zorah 
a man named Manoah, of the family of the 
Danites, "and his wife had no children. And the 
angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and told 
her she would have a son, who was to be a Nazarite 
from his birth (that is to say, he was to be set apart 
for the Lord's service, and drink no wine, and allow 
his hair to grow long), and was to help to free the 
people from the tyranny of the Philistines. 

The angel also appeared to Manoah, and revealed 
the same thing to him. And he offered a kid upon 
a rock as a burnt-offering; and when the flame went 
up from the altar the angel ascended in the flame. 
And Manoah was afraid, and said, We have seen 
God. When the son was born to Manoah and his 
wife, they named him Samson; and he grew and 
was blessed of the Lord. When he was of age he 
went to Timnath, and saw there a Philistine woman 
whom he wished to make his wife. And he told 
his father and mother, who were displeased at his 
choice. But they went down to Timnath with him 
to see the woman, and on their way a young lion 
roared at Samson, and the Lord gave him strength 
to slay the lion as easily as if it had been a kid, 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT g\ 

without any weapon save his hands. On going 
down after a time to Timnath to take the woman to 
wife, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the 
lion, when he saw that a swarm of bees had made 
honey there. So he took a piece of the honeycomb 
in his hands, and walked down eating it. He also 
gave some to his father and mother, but did not 
tell them where he had got it. At the marriage- 
feast at Timnath he gave his guests a riddle, and 
said that whoever answered it before the seven days 
of the feast were ended was to receive thirty suits 
of clothing; and if they could not answer it, then 
they were to give him thirty suits of clothing. The 
riddle was: Out of the eater came forth meat, and 
out of the strong came forth sweetness. The Phil- 
istines could not expound the riddle, and on the 
seventh day they came to Samson's wife and threat- 
ened to burn her and all her relations unless she got 
the explanation from her husband, and declared it 
to them. Samson, in answer to her inquiry, did 
not tell her at first ; but when she wept and 
entreated him he did so. And she at once told it 
to the Philistines. So on the last day of the feast 
they pretended they had discovered the riddle; but 
Samson knew his wife must have told them. In 
order to get the thirty suits of clothing for the 
Philistines, Samson went down to Ashkelon, and 
slew thirty men there, and brought away their 
garments. 

At the time of wheat-harvest Samson went again 
to Timnath to visit his wife, and took a kid with 
him. But he was told that she was his wife no lon- 
ger, and that she had been given to another man. So 



9 2 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Samson was angry, and catching three hundred 
foxes, he tied blazing pieces of wood to their tails, 
and let them loose among the corn of the Philis- 
tines. And the corn was all bnrned up, as well as 
the grape-vines and the olive-trees. When the 
Philistines discovered that Samson had done this, 
they took his wife and her father, and burned them 
with fire. Samson told them he would be avenged 
of them, and he slew them with a great slaughter. 
And afterwards he went to live on a rock called 
Etam. 

Then the Philistines came to Etam to take him, 
and alarmed the Israelites, who asked Samson why 
he had slain the Philistines. And Samson replied, 
As they did unto me so have I done unto them. 
And the Israelites took him and bound him with 
two new cords, and gave him up to the Philistines; 
but when he was brought to their camp he snapped 
the cords as if they had been thread. And finding 
the jawbone of an ass, he took it and slew a thou- 
sand men of the Philistines with it. After he had 
thrown the bone away he felt thirsty, and the Lord 
clave a hollow place in the jawbone, and there came 
out water; so he drank and was refreshed. 

After this Samson went to a city of the Philistines 
called Gaza, and entered the house of a woman 
named Delilah. When the people knew that he 
was in their city they shut the gates, and said they 
would kill him in the morning. But Samson rose 
up at midnight, and finding the gates shut, he 
pulled up the two gate-posts, and bore the gates to 
a hill near the city. Then the Philistines went to 
Delilah, and asked her to find out wherein Samson's 



> 

2 
m 
O 

w 

> 



H 

W 



H 

5 




94 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



great strength lay, that they might take him and do 
as they pleased with him. Samson told. Delilah 
that if he were to be bound with seven green twigs 
he would not be able to break through them. So 
he allowed her to bind him with seven green twigs, 
and she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. 
But he broke these twigs as a thread of tow is 
broken when it toucheth the fire. Twice more he 
mocked her, first by telling her to bind him with 
new ropes, and then to plait his hair; both of which 
being tried failed as before. At last he told her the 
truth, that he was a Nazarite from his birth, that 
his hair had never been cut, and that if it was 
shaven from his head he would be weak as other 
men. As Delilah was a wicked woman she took 
advantage of his confidence, and had his hair 
shaven while he was asleep, and he was taken cap- 
tive by the Philistines, who put out his eyes, bound 
him with fetters, and made him grind in prison. 
While in prison his hair began to grow again, and 
doubtless, repenting of his sin, his wonderful 
strength began to return. 

One day the lords of the Philistines made a great 
feast to their idol Dagon, and being glad that Sam- 
son was now in their hands they sent for him that 
he might make sport for them. When he came, 
they set him between two pillars of the idol temple; 
and both the roof and the inside of the house were 
full of people, all the lords of the Philistines being 
there. And Samson asked the boy who led him to 
allow him to feel the pillars upon which the house 
stood. Then he prayed the Lord to give him 
Strength but this once, that he might be avenged of 



> 

m 
O 

d 
w 

H 

& 
O 

§ 
Q 

W 

H 

W 

w 




9 6 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



the Philistines. And putting forth his hands he 
took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the 
house rested, and bowing himself, the house fell 
and killed all the people that were on the roof and 
within it. And so Samson died, after being judge 
in Israel for twenty years. 

At the time when the judges ruled in Israel there 
lived a man in Beth-lehem-judah named Elimelech, 
with his wife Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and 
Chilion. There was a famine in the land, and they 
journeyed to Moab to get food. There Elimelech 
died; and after a time his two sons, Mahlon and 
Chilion, who had married Orpah and Ruth, women 
of Moab, also died. When Naomi heard that there 
was again food to be had in her own country, she 
started to return from Moab, and her daughters-in- 
law began the journey with her. But she was not 
willing that they should leave their own country; 
so she advised them to return. She kissed them, 
and they wept and said they would not leave her. 
Naomi again told them they would be happier 
in their own land, and that they ought not to leave 
it. Orpah at last returned home; but Ruth, 
although urged by her, clave unto her, and said, 
Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from fol- 
lowing after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; 
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people 
shall be my people, and thy God my God: where 
thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: 
the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but 
death part thee and me. Naomi seeing that Ruth 
was steadfast left off speaking to her, and they 
journeyed together. 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT gy 

And they came to Beth-lehem at the time of 
barley-harvest; and as they were poor, Ruth went 
to the fields to glean after the reapers, and it so hap- 
pened that the field to which she went belonged to 
Boaz, a kinsman of Elimelech's. Boaz came out 
into the field, and seeing a stranger gleaning, he 
asked who she was. The reapers told him that this 
was Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi, who had 
come with her from Moab. Then Boaz spoke 
kindly to her, and told her to remain in that field 
and glean, and also invited her to share the refresh- 
ments along with the reapers. Ruth bowed low in 
acknowledgment, and thanked him for his kindness. 
Boaz told her that he had heard of all she had done 
to her mother-in-law, and said, The Lord recom- 
pense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of 
the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art 
come to trust. The kindness of Boaz did not end 
here. He told his young men to allow her to glean 
even among the sheaves, where the corn was thick- 
est on the ground, and also to let fall some handfuls 
on purpose for her. In the evening Ruth carried 
home to Naomi what she had been gleaning, and 
told her in whose field she had been gathering the 
corn, and how well she had been treated. When 
Naomi heard this, she told Ruth that Boaz was a 
friend of Elimelech's, her father-in-law. So Ruth 
gleaned in the fields of Boaz all the time of barley- 
harvest and wheat-harvest; and when the reaping 
and thrashing were over Naomi bade her go and 
tell Boaz that she was a relative of his, for accord- 
ing to Jewish custom, being her nearest of kin, he 
ought to care for her. Boaz received her kindly 
7 



9 8 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



and sent her back to Naomi with the promise that 
it would be well with her. 

That day Boaz went to the city-gate and waited, 
and he stopped a near kinsman of Elimelech's, and 
then asked ten chief men of the city to come and 
listen to what he had to say. Boaz told this kins- 
man how Naomi had returned from Moab, and 
wished to sell some land that belonged to her late 
husband, and as he was a kinsman he should have 
the first chance of buying it. The man was willing 
to buy the land, but when he heard that he must also 
marry Ruth he refused. So Boaz said he was will- 
ing to purchase the land and marry Ruth; and he 
asked the ten elders to witness the bargain. And 
thus the dutiful and affectionate Ruth was richly 
provided for. Boaz and Ruth lived at Beth-lehem, 
and they had a son born to them called Obed; and 
the son of Obed was Jesse, and Jesse was the father 
of David, the sweet singer and the second king of 
Israel. 

While Samson was judge in Israel there lived in 
Mount Ephraim a man called Elkanah, and his 
wife Hannah had no children. And she came to 
the tabernacle to pray ; and Eli, the high priest, see- 
ing her lips moving but uttering no sound, thought 
she was overcome with strong drink. But Hannah 
answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrow- 
ful spirit, and have poured out my heart before the 
Lord. Then Eli bade her go in peace, and said, 
The God of Israel grant thee the petition thou hast 
asked of him. The request that Hannah had made 
in prayer was that she might have a son ; and she 






STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT gg 

vowed if God should grant her request that her son 
would be dedicated to the service of the Lord. 

And a son was born to Hannah in answer to her 
prayer, and she called his name Samuel, which 
means, u Asked of the Lord. n When the child 
was still young she took him, with an offering for a 
sacrifice, to Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, to 
render thanks to God, who had heard her prayer. 
And she told Eli why she had come, and left her 
child there with him to serve in the tabernacle. 
And the child Samuel was dressed in the linen gar- ' 
ment worn by those who served there, and God was 
with him. 

And one day there came a man of -God to Eli, the 
high priest, to reprove him because of the wicked- 
ness of his sons, and because he had not punished 
them for their evil ways. And it was told him that 
the judgment of God would come upon them, for 
they would both die in one day, and not one of his 
family would succeed him in the priesthood. A 
faithful priest was to be raised up to succeed him, 
who would walk before the Lord forever. 

One night while the child Samuel waited upon 
Eli, a voice called him, and thinking it was that of 
the high priest, he answered, Here am I, and ran to 
him, saying, Here am I ; for thou calledst me. Eli 
told him to go and lie down, as he did not call him. 
Twice again Samuel heard the voice, and went to 
Eli, when the high priest at last saw that it was the 
Lord who had been calling Samuel. He therefore 
told him to go and lie down ; and if he heard the 
voice again he was to answer, Speak, Lord ; for thy 
servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in 



IOO STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

his place. And the Lord came and stood, and 
called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then 
Samuel answered, Speak ; for thy servant heareth. 
And God spake to Samuel, and told him of the 
great punishment he was about to bring upon Eli's 
sons. Samuel lay until the morning; and when Eli 
asked him what the message of the Lord had been, 
Samuel unwillingly told him all the truth. And 
Eli, with resignation said, It is the Lord; let him 
do what seemeth him good. After this Samuel 
grew, and the Lord was with him, and it became 
known that he had been chosen to be a prophet of 
the Lord. 

About this time the Israelites went out against 
the Philistines to battle, and they were smitten, and 
about four thousand of them were slain. The elders 
of Israel wondered when the army came back to the 
camp why the Lord had not given them the victory, 
and they brought out the ark of the covenant from 
Shiloh, that it might save them from their enemies. 
And the ark was taken, and Eli's two sons, Hophni 
and Phinehas, who were with it, were amongst the 
slain. Then a messenger ran from the camp to 
Shiloh, and found Eli sitting by the wayside to hear 
news of the battle. When the messenger told him 
of the death of his sons, and that the ark of God was 
in the hands of the enemy, Eli fell backward from 
the seat where he was sitting, and his neck was 
broken, so that he died. Eli had judged Israel forty 
years, and was njnety-eight years old when he died. 

Then the Philistines carried away the ark to Ash- 
dod, a city on the sea-coast, where they placed it in 
the temple of their idol Dagon. Now Dagon had 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IO i 

the body of a man and the tail of a fish, and next 
morning when they came in they found that the 
idol had fallen upon its face before the ark. They 
set up their idol again, but next morning they again 
found it lying on its face, and only the stump left 
standing. A painful disease next broke out amongst 
the people of the city, and they knew it was because 
of the ark being in their midst. So they removed 
it to Gath ; but the same thing happened there. 
Next they took it to Ekron, when the Ekronites 
begged the lords of the Philistines to take it back 
to Shiloh. So they took the advice of their priests 
and magicians, and it was sent to the city of the 
Levites. 



CHAPTER IX 

SAUL CHOSEN TO BE KING — HE DEFEATS THE ENE- 
MIES OF THE PEOPLE — SAMUEL DISPLACES HIM 
FOR DISOBEDIENCE — DAVID ANOINTED KING — HE 
SLAYS A PHILISTINE GIANT — AND MARRIES SAUL'S 
DAUGHTER — SAUL'S ANGER AT DAVID. 

AFTER twenty years had passed, the Israelites 
~ began to lament after the Lord; and Samuel 
told them if they wished with all their hearts 
to return to the Lord, they must put away their 
idols from amongst them, and prepare to serve the 
Lord only. So Samuel gathered them together at 
Mizpeh, where they fasted and confessed their sins. 
When the Philistines heard that the people were at 
Mizpeh, they came up against them, and Samuel 



102 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

entreated the Lord on their behalf, and a thunder- 
storm was sent which discomfited the Philistines. 
And Samuel set up a stone there, which he called 
Ebenezer, meaning, " Hitherto hath the Lord 
helped us." 

When Samuel grew old he made his sons judges 
over Israel, but they were dishonest and unfaithful. 
And the people came to Samuel and asked that they 
might have a king to rule over them, like the other 
nations. Samuel was displeased, and laid the 
matter before the Lord, and he commanded Samuel, 
notwithstanding the ingratitude of the people, to grant 
their request, but also to warn them that their condi- 
tion would not be the same under a king as it had been 
before ; for a king would oppress them, tax them, 
and take their sons and daughters to be his servants. 

Now there was a mighty man of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin, named Kish, who had a son called Saul, and 
there was not among all the people a goodlier per- 
son than he. One day Saul went out in search of 
his father's asses, which had strayed, and he came 
to Samuel, the prophet and judge, to see if he could 
tell him where they were. And the Lord had 
warned Samuel that the man who was to be king 
over Israel would come that day. So when Samuel 
met him he bade him stay with him until the 
morrow. And on the morrow he anointed Saul 
with oil, and told him that God had chosen him to 
be captain over his inheritance, and that on his way 
home he would witness various signs which would 
confirm the truth of what he had said. So the 
Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul, and he joined a 
company of the prophets, and prophesied with them. 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT I0 3 

And it became a proverb amongst them, Is Saul also 
among the prophets ? 

After that Samuel again called the people to- 
gether at Mizpeh, and Saul and his friends were 
there. And Samuel told the people his message 
from the Lord, that they had rejected him who had 
brought them out of the land of Egypt, in asking 
that a king should rule over them. Then he caused 
each tribe to pass before him, until the tribe of 
Benjamin was chosen, and from among the families 
of Benjamin the family to which Saul belonged was 
chosen. And Saul was called, for he had hidden 
himself ; but God showed them that he was amongst 
the baggage of the encampment. And when they 
found him, he stood higher than any of the people 
from his shoulders and upward. Then Samuel 
asked the people to look upon the man whom the 
Lord had chosen to be their king. And the people 
shouted, God save the king. Then Samuel made 
known to the people the way in which they were to 
be governed, and wrote it in a book, which was laid 
up before the Lord. And the people departed to 
their own homes. 

On returning to Gibeah, where he lived, news 
was brought to Saul one day that the Ammonites 
had come up against Jabesh-Gilead, and would only 
spare the city on condition that the people in it 
would consent to have their right eyes put out. 
And Saul cut a yoke of oxen in pieces, and sent 
portions to the different tribes, saying, that if they 
did not follow him, then their oxen would be cut in 
pieces in like manner. And many thousands of the 
people went up with Saul against the Ammonites, 



104 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



and they scattered them, so that two of them were 
not left together. And the hearts of the people be- 
gan to trust in the king whom the Lord had chosen 
for them. 

Then Samuel called a great assembly of the 
people at Gilgal to renew the kingdom before the 
Lord. And Samuel spoke to the people, telling 
them he was now old and gray-headed, and appeal- 
ing to them whether he had not walked before them 
honestly until that day, having neither defrauded 
them nor oppressed them. And the people said it 
was so. Then Samuel rehearsed to them all the way 
the Lord had led them since they came up out of 
Egypt, and how they had often rebelled against him, 
and he had forgiven them. He exhorted them to 
fear the Lord, and serve him with truth, for if they 
should continue to do wickedly, he would consume 
both them and their king. 

Saul was not long king before he attacked the 
Philistines in Geba. And the Philistines gathered 
themselves together to fight with Israel, and they 
had thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horse- 
men, and a great multitude of fighting men. And 
the men of Israel had to hide themselves in holes of 
the rocks, and among the trees, and in pits. Then 
Saul went to Gilgal to see Samuel and ask his ad- 
vice; and the king was to wait for the prophet seven 
days. But when the seven days passed, and the 
prophet came not to tell him what to do, Saul offered 
a burnt-oflfering himself. Then Samuel appeared, 
and told him that because of his disobedience none 
of his family would inherit the throne, but that God 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



105 



would choose in place of them a man after his own 
heart. 

Jonathan, the son of Saul, at this time did a very 
brave thing: he went out with no one but the young 
man who carried his armor, and trusting that God 
would help him, he killed twenty men. This caused 
a panic in the camp of the Philistines, and Saul 
hearing of it, followed it up, and gained a great vic- 
tory over them. 

After this time Samuel told Saul that the Lord 
wished him to go against the Amalekites, the people 
that had troubled Israel in the wilderness, and ut- 
terly to destroy them. And Saul smote the Amalek- 
ites with great slaughter, and came and told Sam- 
uel that he had carried out the command of the 
Lord, and destroyed the Amalekites. Samuel asked 
what meant then the bleating of sheep and the low- 
ing of oxen that he heard. Saul said he had spared 
them for a sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel told him 
that to obey was better than sacrifice. The Lord 
had ordered him to consume the Amalekites and all 
that they possessed, and he had not done so; and for 
this disobedience he would be cast aside, and would 
be no longer king. 

And God commanded Samuel to go to Jesse, the 
grandson of Boaz and Ruth, and take anointing oil 
with him, for he had provided a king for Israel among 
Jesse's sons. And Samuel went to Beth-lehem, where 
he made a solemn sacrifice to the Lord before the 
people. And when Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse's eldest 
son, he thought he was the man who should be 
chosen, for he was beautiful to look upon. But God 
told him that Eliab was not the man; he did not 



io 6 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

judge by the outward appearance, but looked upon 
the heart. And all the seven sons of Jesse were 
passed before him, but Samuel told Jesse that God 
had chosen none of these. Then Samuel asked Jesse 
whether he had any other sons. Jesse replied that 
there was yet the youngest, who was keeping sheep. 
And Samuel said, Send and fetch him. When David, 
the shepherd boy, came, he looked ruddy and beau- 
tiful, and the Lord commanded Samuel to anoint 
him, as he was to be the new king in Israel. So 
Samuel anointed David, and the Spirit of the Lord 
was with him from that day forward. 

At that time the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, and 
an evil spirit troubled him. In order to drive away 
this melancholy spirit, his servants proposed that a 
skilful musician should be sent for to play upon the 
harp before him. And when Saul agreed, they said 
that there was a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, who 
was a skilful player upon the harp, and a valiant 
man, and comely, and that the Lord was with him. 
So Saul sent for David, and he found favor in the 
eyes of Saul; and when the evil spirit came upon 
him, then David took his harp and played upon it, 
and the evil spirit departed. 

After this the Philistines gathered together for 
battle, and Saul went against them, and the three 
eldest sons of Jesse followed him, but David returned 
to keep his father's sheep. And one day his father 
sent him to the camp with provisions for his brothers. 
So he left his sheep in charge of another keeper, and 
reached the camp just as the Israelites were ready to 
go forth against the Philistines. When he was talk- 
ing with his brethren, a giant called Goliath came out 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



107 



from the ranks of the Philistines, and challenged any 
one of the Israelites to come forth and do battle with 
him. If an Israelite should kill him, then the battle 
would be gained by the Israelites; but if, on the 
other hand, he should kill the Israelite, then they 
must serve the Philistines. Now all the Israelites 
were afraid of this giant, he was so tall and fierce- 
looking, He had a helmet of brass on his head, was 
covered with armor, and carried a great spear in his 
hand, and before him went a man who held up a 
shield for his defence. 

David heard the haughty words of the Philistine 
giant, and asked further about him, and found that 
whoever should kill him would receive a great reward 
and one of the king's daughters in marriage. Eliab, 
David's brother, reproved him for his pride and 
naughtiness in asking questions about the Philistine. 
But David's words were told to Saul, who sent for 
him, and said to him that being but a youth he was 
not able to go against such a mighty man of war. 
Then David said to the king, Thy servant kept his 
father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, 
and took a lamb out of the flock, and I went out after 
him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his 
mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him 
by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy 
servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this un- 
circumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, see- 
ing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 
And Saul said, Go, and the Lord be with thee. Then 
Saul armed David with his armor, and David girded 
himself with the king's sword; but because he had 
not proved them he put. down the king's sword and 



I0 8 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

put off the armor again, and instead, took his staff in 
his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of 
the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which 
he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his 
hand ; and he drew near to the Philistine. And the 
Philistine came on, and drew near unto David; and 
the man that bare the shield went before him. And 
when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, 
he disdained him, and doubted not but that he would 
slay the young man who had rashly ventured to 
come out against him. But the Lord was with 
David; and he took a stone from his bag, and placed 
it in his sling, and aiming it at the giant it pierced 
his forehead, and he fell forward on his face upon 
the earth. Then David ran up and cut off Goliath's 
head with his sword in sight of both the armies. 
And he was welcomed with a shout of trixftnph from 
the camp of Israel, and they pursued the terror- 
stricken Philistines to the city of Ekron. When 
David returned, bearing Goliath's head, Saul asked 
whose son he was; and David replied that he was the 
son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite. From that time 
David went no more home to his father's house. 

David speedily formed a close friendship with 
Jonathan, the son of Saul. The soul of Jonathan 
was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan 
loved him as his own soul. In token of his friend- 
ship Jonathan gave to David his own armor, even to 
his sword, and to his bow and his girdle. But King 
Saul was jealous of David when he heard the people 
singing, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David 
his tens of thousands. And when David played 
before Saul next day, an evil spirit came upon him, 



> 

< 



> 

W 

Q 
O 

► 

H 




IIO STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

and he threw a javelin, or spear, at him to kill him. 
Bnt David stepped aside, and it missed him. Then 
Satil threw it once more, but David again stepped 
aside. 

After that Saul sent out David from before him, 
and he became captain of a band of soldiers. He 
was twice sent to fight with the Philistines, because 
Saul hoped he might be slain. The king had begun 
to hate David, and purposed in his heart to kill 
him; but Jonathan warned him of his father's in- 
tention. After this, war broke out again, and David 
gained another victory over the Philistines, which 
made Saul hate him the more; and when David 
was playing before him, he again threw his javelin 
at him that he might kill him. But David stepped 
aside, and fled. He went to his own house, whither 
Saul sent messengers to take him, but Michal his 
wife let him down through a window, so that they 
could not see him. Then she put an image in the 
bed, with a pillow beneath it, so that it might seem 
that David. was there; which gave him time to fly 
from his pursuers. And Saul was very angry with 
his daughter Michal when he found she had de- 
ceived him. 

David fled to Ramah, and told Samuel all that 
Saul had done; and afterwards at Naioth he met 
with Jonathan, and told him also. Now Saul was 
to have a feast on the next day, and it was agreed 
between Jonathan and David that David should be 
absent, and Jonathan should try to find out whether 
Saul really meant to kill David. On the second 
day of the feast Saul asked Jonathan why David 
was not there. And Jonathan made answer that he 



d 
> 
< 



> 
o 
o 

> 
H 

> 
3 




II2 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

had asked permission to go to Beth-lehem to offer 
sacrifice there with his family. And Saul was 
angry with Jonathan because of his friendship with 
David, and threw a javelin at him. From this 
Jonathan was certain that Saul had determined to 
slay David; so he went out 'to a place where he had 
arranged to meet him, and told him that his father 
meant to kill him. And Jonathan warned David to 
flee and hide himself from his father. And they 
made a vow of perpetual friendship. 

David went first to the city of Nob, where the 
tabernacle was; and next to the Philistine city of 
Gath, where he was recognized, and where he 
feigned himself mad. Next he took refuge in the 
cave of Adullam, where many who were in debt or 
discontented joined him. After this a prophet told 
his brethren and friends and David to go to the land 
of Judah. And Saul was at Gibeah, and he was 
told how David, when at Nob, had been helped by 
Ahimelech the priest, who had given him the shew- 
bread from the tabernacle to eat, and also the sword 
of Goliath the Philistine. This made Saul angry, 
and he sent and slew many of the priests by the 
hand of a wicked man called Doeg, an Edomite. 
But Abiathar, one of the priests, escaped and told 
David. 

Then David heard that the Philistines had come 
up against a city of Judah called Keilah, and he 
asked the Lord if he might go up and punish them. 
And the Lord said unto David, Go. And David 
went with his small band of men and took the city. 
When Saul heard that David was at Keilah, he 
tried to entrap him, but David fled to a wood, where 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



113 



Jonathan visited him and comforted him. David 
now fled from Saul into the wilderness of En-gedi, 
and Saul's army followed him to take him. And 
David and his men hid in a cave, and Saul without 
knowing they were there went into it. And David's 
men wished their master to kill h;m; but David 
only went up softly behind him, and secretly cut 
off a piece of his robe and took it away. When 
Saul left the cave David followed him, and saluted 
him, and asked him why he should think that he 
meant to do him harm; seeing that when he had 
had an opportunity of killing him in the cave he had 
not lifted up his hand against him. This appeal 
melted the heart of Saul, and he said, Is this thy 
voice, my son David? and he wept, saying that 
David was more righteous than he, for he had re- 
turned good for evil. And he asked David to swear 
that he would not cut off his seed after him, add- 
ing, The Lord reward thee for the good that thou 
hast done unto me this day. And David sware unto 
Saul. 

While David was in the wilderness of Paran he 
sent for some food for his men to a rich man named 
Nabal. Now although David and his men had 
guarded Nabal' s flocks in the wilderness, he was 
ungrateful, and would give them nothing. And in 
the anger of his heart David commanded his men 
to go and punish him. But Nabal' s wife, Abigail, 
heard what David had purposed, and unknown to 
her husband, she prepared a present of loaves of 
bread, and wine, and sheep, and raisins, and figs and 
parched corn, and presented it to David and his 
men as they were coming to wreak their vengeance 



II4 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

on her husband. So David's wrath was appeased, 
and when Nabal died shortly after, Abigail became 
David's wife. 

Then the Ziphites, who had before been un- 
friendly to David, went and told Saul where to find 
him; so the king, whose heart had again turned 
against David, came out with his men into the 
wilderness after him. David, warned by his spies, 
found out where Saul had encamped, and taking his 
nephew Abishai, they went boldly down one night 
into Saul's tent, passed the sleeping soldiers, and 
bore away the spear of the king and the bottle of 
water from beside his pillow. Then going to a hill 
near at hand, they shouted to Saul's men, and up- 
braiding them, showed them the king's spear and 
the cruse of water they had taken. And Saul 
knew David's voice, and when David asked him 
why he hunted him thus, saying that if he had 
done evil he was willing to confess and atone for it, 
Saul confessed he had done wickedly; and when 
David showed him the spear which he had taken 
from his side when he might have killed him Saul 
blessed him. But David did not believe in Saul's 
repentance, so he went with his six hundred men 
to a city of the Philistines called Ziklag, where he 
remained a year and four months. 

At that time the Philistines made war against 
Saul, and he gathered all Israel together, and made 
his camp at Gilboa. And when he saw the host of 
the Philistines he was afraid, and inquired of the 
Lord what he should do, but because he had for- 
saken the way of the Lord he answered him not. 
Then Saul disguised himself and went to a woman 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



US 



of Endor, who had a familiar spirit that came when 
it was called, and asked that he might see the 
prophet Samuel. And the Lord sent the spirit of 
Samuel, for he was now dead. But Saul got no 
comfort from Samuel, for he told him that the Lord 
had departed from him, that his kingdom had been 
rent out of his hand and given to David, and that 
on the morrow the Philistines would conquer Israel, 
and that he and his sons would be slain. When 
Saul heard this news, he fell to the earth, and his 
strength left him. Then the woman gave him 
food, and he rose up and departed. 

Next day the battle went against Saul, and the 
archers wounded him sorely, and Jonathan and two 
of his sons were killed. And Saul wished his 
armor-bearer to put him to death, but he was afraid; 
and the king, falling upon his own sword, fell dead. 
But David did not know of this great defeat at the 
time, for Achish, king of Gath, had sent him away 
from amongst the Philistines before the battle had 
begun. So David and his men went to Ziklag, 
where they found the place laid waste by the 
Amalekites. But David found where they were, 
and brought back the women and children, and all 
the spoil they had taken. And on the third day, a 
fugitive from Gilboa came and told David that Saul 
and Jonathan were slain. And David rent his 
clothes, and mourned and wept for Saul and Jona- 
than, and for the house of Israel, 



U6 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER X 

DAVID MADE KING IN HEBRON — HIS SIN IN THE 
MATTER OF URIAH AND BATHSHEBA — HE IS 
REPROVED BY NATHAN THE PROPHET — THE 
BIRTH OF SOLOMON — THE REBELLION OF ABSA- 
LOM — DAVID'S DEATH — SOLOMON BUILDS THE 
TEMPLE — HIS DEATH — HE IS SUCCEEDED BY 
MANY WICKED KINGS. 

DAVID now inquired of the Lord if he should go 
up into any of the cities of Judah. And the 
Lord told him to go to Hebron, the chief city of 
his own tribe; and the chief men gathered round him 
and made him their king. Thus was the prophecy 
fulfilled that the kingdom should be given to the 
tribe of Judah, for David belonged to that tribe. 

After the death of Ish-bosheth, a son of Saul who 
ruled over a part of the kingdom, and who was 
slain contrary to the wishes of David, he went to 
live at Jerusalem, which henceforth was called the 
city of David. 

David then asked of the Lord whether if he 
went up against the Philistines they would be 
delivered into his hand. And the Lord commanded 
him to go up, and he would be victorious. And 
David smote the Philistines from Geba unto Gazer. 

And David again gathered together all the chosen 
men of Israel, thirty thousand, and went with them 
to bring the ark of the Lord from the house of 
Abinadab. And while it was being brought in a 
new cart, drawn by oxen, Uzzah, one of the sons 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



117 



of Abinadab, seeing it shake because of the rough- 
ness of the way, put forth his hand to steady it. 
And the anger of God was kindled against him for 
his want of reverence, and God smote him that he 
died. After this the ark rested for a time in the 
house of Obed-edom, and all his household was 
blessed because of it. When this was told to David 
he prepared a tent for the ark of God, and brought 
it up from the house of Obed-edom. But this time 
it was carried on the shoulders of the priests, and 
treated with greater reverence. David offered sacri- 
fices to God, and he was so glad at heart that he 
danced before the ark; and the people shouted, and 
the trumpets were sounded. After the ark had 
been set in its place David offered burnt offerings 
and peace offerings, and blessed the people in the 
name of the Lord. And now that David dwelt in 
his own house, and the Lord had given him rest 
from all his enemies, the wish was in his heart to 
build a house for the ark of the Lord. But the 
prophet Nathan was commanded to go unto* David 
and reveal to him that the son that should come 
after him would build a house for the Lord, and 
that the Lord would establish David's seed upon 
the throne forever. 

After this time David fell into great sin. While 
his men were still at war with the heathen tribes he 
remained at Jerusalem; and on an evening as he 
walked on the house-top he saw a very beautiful 
woman, whom he wished to make his wife. He 
asked who she was, and was told that her name was 
Bathsheba, and that she was already the wife of one 
of his soldiers, a man named Uriah. Then David 



Hg STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

thought if Uriah were sent out of the way he might 
have Bathsheba to wife. So he sent a message to 
his captain Joab, to place Uriah in the fore-front of 
the battle, where he would lively be killed. Joab 
obeyed the order which he had received, and very 
soon afterwards a message came that Uriah the Hit- 
tite was slain. 

But the Lord was displeased with David for what 
he had done, and Nathan the prophet came to him 
and told David a parable which brought home his 
guilt to him. Part of his punishment was to be that 
there would be perpetual warfare and strife in his 
own family. And David was stricken with sorrow, 
and said, I have sinned against the Lord. His pun- 
ishment soon came, for the child that was born to 
him by her who had been the wife of Uriah sickened 
and died. While the child was ill David fasted and 
wept, but after its death he went to the tabernacle 
and worshipped God. Another son was born to 
David, who became the great king Solomon, the 
wisest man that ever lived. 

Another part of David's punishment was the rebel- 
lion of his beautiful and beloved son Absalom, who 
caused his half-brother Amnon to be slain, and then 
fled from Jerusalem. After three years' exile from 
his father's house Absalom was allowed to return, 
and after a time was restored to his father's favor. 
But he soon set to work in a mean and crafty way to 
win the hearts of the people over to his service, in 
order that he might be made king; and he went out 
with a small army to Hebron pretending that he was 
going to offer sacrifices. When the news of Absa- 
lom's rebellion was brought to David he left Jerusa- 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



II 9 



lem with an army, in case his son should come up 
against it and take it. On their way a man of the 
family of Saul, named Shimei, cursed the king and 
his men, and threw stones at them. Meantime Ab- 
salom entered Jerusalem with his men, and asked ad- 
vice from Ahithophel and Hushai, two of his father's 
counsellors. The advice of Ahithophel was to send 
a large army at once and capture his father, and so 
secure the throne for himself. But Hushai, who 
was friendly to David, counselled delay. Absalom 
took the advice of Hushai, and so in that way God 
turned the counsel of Ahithophel to foolishness. 
And when he saw that his advice was disregarded, 
he went and hanged himself. 

Meantime David and his men had crossed the 
Jordan for safety, and reached the city of Mahanaim. 
And Absalom also passed over Jordan with a great 
army into the land of Gilead. And a battle took 
place in the wood of Ephraim, when the army of 
Absalom was completely routed. As he fled from 
the army of his father, the mule upon which he rode 
went under the boughs of an oak tree, so that Absa- 
lom's head was caught in the boughs, and he was 
left hanging there. And a certain man told Joab 
that Absalom was hanging from one of the trees of 
the forest. So Joab went and thrust him through 
with a dart as he hung there, and his body was cast 
into a pit in the wood, and stones were piled upon 
it. When the tidings were brought to David of the 
death of his son he was waiting between the two 
gates of Mahanaim. And when he heard the sad 
news, he went up to the chamber over the gate, and 
wept: and as he went, he said, O my son Absalom! 



120 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for 
thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! 

After this, David, tempted by Satan, cansed the 
people to be numbered, and for this sin a pestilence 
was sent amongst them. While the destroying angel 
stood by the threshing-floor of Araunah, the Jebusite, 
ready to smite the people of Jerusalem, David be- 
seeched the Lord that he himself should be punished, 
and the people spared. And Gad the prophet com- 
manded David to rear an altar unto the Lord on the 
threshing-floor; and David did so, and the plague was 
stayed. 

When David was old and well stricken in years, 
his son Adonijah rebelled against him, and taking 
into his counsel Joab the captain of the host and 
Abiathar the priest, put himself up for king. But 
David commanded that Solomon should be anointed 
king while he himself yet lived. And when this 
was done he sent for Solomon, and charged him to 
serve God with a perfect heart and with a willing 
mind, for if he sought God he would be found of 
him, but if he forsook him he would cast him off 
forever. And David gave to Solomon the pattern 
of the temple, and presented to him all the costly 
materials he had collected for the work. He also 
instructed him in the order of the service, as he had 
received it from the Lord, and gave him the courses 
of the priests and Levites. Then David blessed the 
Lord before all the congregation, and said, Blessed 
be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and 
ever. And he said to the congregation, Now bless 
the Lord your God. And all the congregation 
blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and worshipped 



122 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

the Lord. Then the people ate and drank that 
day with great gladness. And all the people sub- 
mitted themselves unto Solomon, and he sat on the 
throne of David his father. 

And David died, after having reigned as king for 
forty years; seven in Hebron, and thirty- three in 
Jerusalem. 

Then Solomon sat upon the throne of David his 
father, and the Lord was with him and magnified 
him exceedingly. And he went up to Gibeon with 
all the congregation to sacrifice unto the Lord, and 
while there God appeared to him in a dream, and 
said to him, Ask what I shall give thee. And 
Solomon asked for an understanding heart, that he 
might go out and in before the people, and judge 
them wisely. 

The wisdom of Solomon was exemplified in the way 
he dealt with two women who had quarrelled with 
one another as to which of them was the mother of 
a child. Tljey lived in the same house, and the 
child of one of them having died, its mother took it 
and laid it beside the other woman, and took away 
the living child as her own. And they came before 
the king for him to decide their quarrel. And the 
king ordered that the living child should be divided 
in two, and a half given to each woman. Then the 
mother of the living child said, O my lord, give her 
the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the 
other said, Let it be divided. Then the king 
ordered that the living child should be given to the 
first, for he said, She is the mother thereof. And 
the people saw that the wisdom of God was in the 
king. 






1 




I2 4 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Solomon now began to carry out the instructions 
of his father David for the building of the temple. 
Clever workmen were sent by Hiram, king of Tyre, 
to prepare the stones and the cedars of Lebanon for 
the building. And all the wood and stone was 
made ready before it was laid in their place, so that 
there was no noise heard while the temple was being 
built. 

After four years of preparation the building was 
begun, the site chosen being on Mount Moriah, the 
place which David bad chosen, and where Abraham 
many hundreds of years before had meant to offer 
up his son Isaac. And it took seven years to build. 
The plan of it was the same as that of the taber- 
nacle. There was a holy place for the altar of in- 
cense, the table of shewbread, and the golden 
candlestick. In the holy of holies was placed the 
ark containing the tables of stone, overshadowed by 
the two cherubims. The whole building was 
adorned with gold and precious stones, and the 
wood-work was covered with gold. There was also 
a great altar and vessels of brass, all of the finest 
workmanship. 

When it was finished, Solomon called a great as- 
sembly of the people for its dedication. And he 
knelt before the people on a platform of brass, and 
spreading forth his hands, prayed that the Lord 
would watch over the place by day and night, and 
hear the prayers that would be offered there. And 
if any one in distress cried upon God, Solomon be- 
seeched that the Lord would hear in heaven, his 
dwelling-place, and when he heard that he would 
forgive. Now when Solomon had made an end of 



126 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed 
the burnt-offering and the sacrifices. And after the 
dedication Solomon held a great feast, and after- 
wards the people returned to their homes, glad of 
heart for all the goodness the Lord had done for 
David and for Israel. 

The Lord again appeared to Solomon in a dream, 
and told him that his prayer had been heard, and 
that he had chosen the temple for his place of 
sacrifice. If Solomon walked before him, as David 
had walked, and obeyed his commandments, his 
throne would be established, but if the king and the 
people forgot his commandments, and worshipped 
idols, then they would be driven out of their own 
land, and the beautiful house would be destroyed. 

So Solomon prospered greatly, and built many 
cities, amongst them Tadmor, or Palmyra, in the 
desert. He had many ships, which brought him 
gold from Ophir, and silver, ivory and many beauti- 
ful things from other countries. And his fame 
spread abroad, for he was wiser than any man that 
had ever lived before. The Book of Proverbs con- 
tains some of his wise sayings; he also wrote several 
Psalms, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and the Song of 
Solomon. The Queen of Sheba heard of his fame, 
and came to see him, bringing with her spices, gold 
and precious stones as presents. When she saw his 
wealth, the number of his servants and his rich 
clothing, and heard his great wisdom, she was as- 
tonished, and said that the half had not been told 
to her. 

But notwithstanding Solomon's wisdom he fell 
into grievous gin. He married many wives, who 



O 

O 

o 
w 

H 

c 

c/j 

H 
O 



U 

O 

> 

H 




128 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

worshipped strange gods, and they turned Solomon's 
heart astray after their gods. And the Lord was 
angry with him, and told him that because of this 
sin the kingdom would be taken away from his son, 
and he would be left with only one tribe to reign 
over. Another king was to rule over the other ten 
tribes; and henceforward there would be two king- 
doms — Judah and Israel. Many adversaries rose up 
against Solomon in his last days; and he died, and 
his son Rehoboam reigned in his stead. 

Rehoboam was a proud and headstrong man, and 
as was foretold to Solomon, only the tribe of Judah 
remained faithful to him. Jeroboam, the son of one 
of Solomon's household, was chosen king over the 
other ten tribes. And Rehoboam made an attempt 
to recover the rest of the kingdom, but being 
warned by the Lord he desisted. Jeroboam, who 
ruled over Israel, chose Ephraim as his chief city, 
and in order to keep the people from going up to 
Jerusalem to worship, he set up a golden calf in 
Bethel, and another in Dan, which led them into 
idolatry. A prophet from the tribe of Judah warned 
Jeroboam that there would arise a king in Judah 
who would punish his false prophets for their 
wickedness. 

Rehoboam, the king of Judah, ruled his people 
wisely for three years, and walked in the way of 
David and Solomon. But at the end of that time 
he led the people into idolatry. For this cause, 
Shishak, king of Egypt, was allowed to come up 
against Jerusalem, and he carried away much of the 
treasures and precious things from the temple, and 
from the king's house. And there was continual 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT i2 g 

warfare between Rehoboam the king of Judali and 
Jeroboam the king of Israel, until the death of the 
former, when his son Abijah reigned in his stead 
and overcame Jeroboam. After Abijah came Asa, 
and then Jehoshaphat. Meantime there had been 
in Israel six evil kings, and the sixth, Ahab, was 
the worst of them all. His wife Jezebel encouraged 
him in his evil, and he worshipped idols. During 
this reign Israel was sunk in idolatry, and those who 
served the true God were hunted and put to death. 
But Obadiah, one of AhaVs servants, being a good 
man, hid a hundred of the prophets of the Lord in 
a cave to save them from the persecution of Jezebel. 



CHAPTER XI 

ELIJAH THE PROPHET REPROVES AHAB — THE 
PROPHETS OF BAAL SLAIN IX MOUNT CARMEL — 
ELIJAH TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN — ELISHA SUC- 
CEEDS HIM — NAAMAN THE SYRIAN — AHAB AND 
JEZEBEL SLAIN — THE END OF THE KINGDOM 
OF JUDAH — THE STORY OF JOB. 

AND God sent the prophet Elijah to warn King 

-£±- Ahab that because of his wickedness a great 

drought would come upon Israel, and that there 

would be neither dew nor rain for three years. Alter 

livering his message Elijah went to live beside the 

brook Cherith, where the ravens brought him bread 

and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the 

mine. And he drank of the brook. When (J 



I3 o STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

brook was dry, at God's command Elijah went to 
the city of Zarephath, to the house of a widow. 
This woman had only a handful of meal in a barrel 
and a little oil; and when Elijah came she was 
gathering a few sticks to make a fire whereon to 
cook a last meal for herself and her son before they 
died. Then Elijah told her that her meal and oil 
would last in a miraculous manner until the Lord 
sent rain upon the earth; and this happened as 
Elijah had said. After this the widow's son fell sick 
and died. And Elijah took the body and laid it 
upon his own bed, and stretched himself three times 
upon it, and prayed earnestly that God would bring 
the child back to life; and the Lord heard his prayer, 
and the child's soul came again. Then the widow 
knew assuredly that a man of God had been living 
under her roof. 

After the three years of drought, Elijah went to 
see King Ahab. And the king said to him, Art 
thou he that- troubleth Israel ? And Elijah said, I 
have not troubled Israel, but thou hast, in that thou 
hast followed Baalim. And Elijah asked Ahab to 
call together all Israel and the priests of Baal and 
Ashtaroth to Mount Carmel. And when they were 
gathered there, Elijah said to the people, How long 
halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, 
follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. Then 
Elijah caused two sacrifices to be prepared, one for 
himself, and one for the prophets of Baal, and 
neither of them was to put fire below their offering; 
but, said Elijah to the prophets of Baal, Call ye on 
the name of your gods, and I will call on the name 
of the Lord; and the God that answereth by fire let 



132 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



him be the God. Then the prophets of Baal called 
from morning till night, O Baal, hear us ! But 
there was neither voice nor answer. At this Elijah 
mocked them, and asked the people to come near to 
him. Then, alone there to witness for the God of 
Israel before hundreds of idolaters, he repaired a 
ruined altar, and caused a trench to be made round 
it. Then he laid wood and a bullock upon the altar, 
and water was poured over the sacrifice and into the 
trench. And at the time of the evening sacrifice 
Elijah prayed to God that he would let it be known 
that he was God, and that Elijah was his servant, so 
that the hearts of the people might be turned again 
towards him. Then fire fell from heaven, and 
burned the sacrifice and the altar, and dried up the 
water in the trench. When the people saw this, 
they fell on their faces, saying, The Lord he is the 
God; the Lord he is the God. And the false 
prophets of Baal were taken down to the brook 
Kishon and slain there. When Ahab told his wife 
Jezebel how Elijah had slain the prophets of Baal, 
she determined to slay him. And he fled to the 
wilderness, and was sleeping under a juniper-tree, 
when the angel of the Lord touched him, and bade 
him arise and eat. And Elijah looked and saw a 
cake baked upon the coals beside him, and a cruse 
of water standing by. And he arose and did eat and 
drink and was strengthened. After that he jour- 
neyed to Horeb, and went into a cave there. And 
the Lord asked him, What doest thou here, Elijah ? 
And Elijah answered that it was because the men of 
Israel had forsaken the true God, and he only was 
left. And the Lord commanded him to return 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



133 



toward the wilderness of Damascus, and anoint 
Elisha the prophet to succeed him. EHsha was 
ploughing with his oxen in the field when Elijah 
came near and threw his mantle over him. And 
Elisha went with him, and became his servant. 

After this Ahab coveted the vineyard of a man 
named Naboth at Jezreel. And Jezebel, finding 
that Ahab was sad because he could not get it by 
purchase from Naboth, sent and had the owner put 
to death. Because of this Elijah warned him that 
evil would be sent upon him, for the dogs would 
lick his blood in the place where they licked the 
blood of Naboth; and of Jezebel, he said that the 
dogs would eat her by the wall of Jezreel. And so 
it happened, for Ahab was wounded in battle with 
Ben-hadad; and as his chariot was being washed in 
the pool of Samaria the dogs came and licked his 
blood from it. 

When the time came for the Lord to take Elijah 
into heaven, he went with Elisha to Gilgal. And 
he wanted to be alone, but Elisha would not leave 
him, so they went to Bethel together. At Bethel 
the young men in the schools of the prophets said to 
Elisha, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away 
thy master from thy head to-day? Elisha answered, 
Yea, I know it: hold ye your peace. And they went 
on to Jericho, and the same question was put to 
Elisha there by the young prophets, and they re- 
ceived the same answer. Elijah still entreated his 
servant to leave him, but Elisha said, As the Lord 
liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. 
So they went on to Jordan, and Elijah smote the 
waters with his mantle, and they passed over on dry 



I 3 4 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

ground. And as they walked and talked together, 
Elijah asked Elisha what he should do for him be- 
fore he was taken away; and Elisha asked that a 
double portion of Elijah's spirit might rest upon 
him. Elijah said, Thou hast asked a hard thing; 
but if thou see me taken from thee, it shall be so; if 
not, it shall not be so. And as they still went on 
and talked, there came a chariot of fire, and horses 
of fire, and parted them asunder, and Elijah went 
up to heaven. And when Elisha saw this he cried 
out, My father, my father ! the chariots of Israel 
and the horsemen thereof. And he rent his own 
clothes, and took up the mantle of Elijah which had 
fallen from him. 

Among the many miraculous things that Elisha 
did was the following: There dwelt in the city of 
Shunem a great woman, who was very kind to 
Elisha, and every time he passed that way he turned 
in thither to eat bread. And she and her husband set 
apart a little room in their house for the use of the 
prophet. Now this woman had no children, but 
Elisha promised her that by and by she should have 
a son. And it happened according to Elisha's 
word, for a son was born to her. And one day, 
when the boy had grown up, he was out in the fields 
with the reapers, and he complained of his head. 
He was taken home and laid on his mother's knees, 
and at noon he died. His mother then laid him on 
the bed of the prophet, and saddled an ass and went 
in great haste to Mount Carmel to seek Elisha. 
And when she told the prophet what had happened, 
he had compassion upon her, and sent his servant 
Gehazi to touch the child's face with his staff; but 



I3 6 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



the child showed no signs of life. When Elisha 
came he prayed to the Lord that the child might be 
restored to life again, and he lay down upon the 
child, and stretched himself upon him, and he be- 
came warm, sneezed seven times, and came to life. 

Now Naaman, the captain of the army of the 
Syrians, was a great man with his master, and an 
honorable and very valiant; but he was a leper. 
And there was a little maid in waiting on his wife 
who had been brought away as a captive from the 
land of Israel; and she was sorry for the distress of 
her master. So she made bold to tell her mistress 
of the man of God called Elisha, who lived in her 
native country, and said she was sure he would be 
able to cure her master Naaman. After much per- 
suasion Naaman went to the house of Elisha. But 
the prophet sent a message to the proud Syrian 
captain that if he went and washed in the river 
Jordan seven times he would be clean. And Naa- 
man was angry when he heard this, and said he 
thought the prophet would have come and touched 
him, and so have freed him from his leprosy at 
once. He asked if Abana and Pharpar, rivers in 
his own country, were not better than all the rivers 
in Israel. But his servants reasoned with him, and 
said if the prophet had asked him to do some great 
thing, would he not have done it? how much more, 
then, when he only said to him, Wash and be 
clean ! So Naaman went at last, and dipped him- 
self in the Jordan, and his flesh became clean as 
that of a little child. And he went to Elisha, and 
said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in 
all the earth but in Israel. And he offered a present 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



137 



to Elisha, but the prophet would receive nothing 
from his hand. And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, 
acted deceitfully, for he ran after Naaman, and 
received a present from him, saying it was for his 
master. Then Elisha told Gehazi that as a punish- 
ment the leprosy of Naaman should cleave to him 
and to all his descendants forever. 

While the king of Syria was troubling Israel, and 
sending out bands of soldiers into the country, the 
king of Israel was continually forewarned as to 
where they were by Elisha. And some one told the 
king of Syria how the army of Israel came to know 
all their movements, so he sent chariots and horse- 
men to Dothan,' where the prophet was, to take 
him. Next morning Elisha's servant saw the great 
host of the Syrians, and told his master. Elisha bade 
him fear not; for those that were with them were 
more than those that were against them. And 
Elisha prayed that his servant's eyes might be 
opened, when lo, he saw the mountain full of horses 
and chariots of fire round about Elisha. When 
the Syrian horsemen and chariots came towards 
Elisha to take him, he prayed to the Lord, and 
said, Smite this people with blindness. And the 
Lord smote them with blindness, according to the 
word of Elisha. Then Elisha led them to Samaria, 
where they became the captives of the king of 
Israel, who dealt kindly with them, and sent them 
back to the Syrian camp. 

On another occasion, when there was a great 
famine in Samaria because of its being besieged by 
the king of Syria, the people were miraculously 
provided for. The Lord caused the Syrians to hear 



138 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



the noise of chariots and horses, and thus made 
them fly and leave all their spoil behind them, 
which fell into the hands of the Israelites. Four 
lepers who had been cast outside the city gate were 
the first to discover that the Syrian camp was 
deserted, and brought word into Samaria. 

And now the word of Elijah, which he spoke 
regarding the wicked Jezebel, was fulfilled. Jehu 
had slain Jehoram, the son of Ahab, near Jezreel. 
On passing through the city Jehu made a sign to 
those in Jezebel's house who were on his side; and 
Jezebel, who was seated at a window, was cast down 
at Jehu's command, and the horses of his chariot 
trod her under foot. Shortly afterwards Jehu sent 
to bury her body, for he said she was a king's 
daughter, but they found only her bones, because 
the dogs had eaten her flesh. And Jehu sent word 
to the inhabitants of Samaria commanding them to 
slay Ahab's seventy sons who were there. And 
they slew them, and sent their heads to Jehu at 
Jezreel. And Jehu himself slew all that were in 
Jezreel of Ahab's house, and his great men and 
his priests, until he left none remaining. 

During the reign of Jeroboam over Israel the 
cities of Damascus and Hamath were taken from 
the Syrians. But the people became idolaters, and 
forgot to serve God, and continued to worship 
golden calves. The prophets Amos and Hosea both 
proclaimed to the king and the people that greater 
punishments would come upon them in the future 
than had ever been in the past, for an enemy would 
come and take them captive, and treat them with 
cruelty. Ever since Israel had been made a king- 



140 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



dom the kings and the people had departed from the 
commandments of God, and had worshipped the 
false gods which were set up in the high places. 
Since Jeroboam had been chosen king two hundred 
and fifty-four years had passed, and nineteen kings 
had ruled over them, all of whom had done wick- 
edly. So what the prophets had foretold came to 
pass. The king of Assyria came into the land of 
Israel, and taking the people captive, he gave them 
cities to live in, but would not allow them to re- 
turn to their own country. We do not know what 
became of the ten tribes after they were taken cap- 
tive into Assyria; but the king of that land sent 
his own people to dwell in the cities of Israel. We 
read that the Lord was very angry with Israel, and 
removed them out of his sight; there was none left 
but the tribe of Judah only. Of the land given to 
Israel only the kingdom of Judah remained, and 
good Hezekiah was king- there at that time. And 
Samaria was colonized by the heathen people. 

The kingdom of Judah ended in this way. While 
Jehoiachin reigned in Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon, came and spoiled the temple and 
the king's palace, and also took the king, his mother, 
his wives, and the princes of Judah, and the soldiers 
in Jerusalem, captive to Babylon. And there they 
remained for seventy years ; and Jeremiah the pro- 
phet wrote a letter, and bade them be contented, as 
Jerusalem was to be destroyed. The prophet Eze- 
kiel, instructed by signs and visions, also told them 
the same thing. 

And Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king of 
Jerusalem, but he rebelled against him. Jeremiah 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



141 



prophesied that Jerusalem would fall into the hands 
of the king of Babylon, and for this he was let down 
into a deep pit; but the king afterwards commanded 
that he should be drawn out. Jeremiah told the 
king if he would go out and deliver himself up to 
the king of Babylon, he would be saved alive, and 
the city would not be burned with fire. But Zede- 
kiah disregarded the command of the Lord, and the 
city was besieged for eighteen months. And when 
he attempted to escape he was caught by the Chal- 
deans; his two sons were killed before his eyes, his 
eyes were put out, and he was carried captive to 
Babylon, where he died in prison. The temple was 
burned at this time by the captain of Nebuchad- 
nezzar's army, the city walls were broken down, 
and the people of Jerusalem who were not slain were 
carried away captive to Babylon. 

Thus ended the kingdom of Judah, after lasting 
for about three hundred and eighty-eight years, 
nineteen kings and one queen having reigned since 
Rehoboam the son of Solomon was made king over 
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. But now, be- 
cause of their disobedience against God, they were 
carried away captive to another country. 

In very early times in Bible history there lived 
a wealthy man in the land of Uz, named Job, who 
was blessed of God, because he served him with a 
perfect heart. But one day Satan appeared before 
God, and accused Job of only serving him for selfish 
reasons. If he were to deprive him of all the good 
things which he had, then Job would serve him no 
longer. 

And God gave Satan power over Job to tempt 



142 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

him, only his life was to be spared. And now dis- 
aster after disaster came upon this servant of God. 
While his seven sons and daughters were feasting 
together at their eldest brother's house, a messenger 
came to him, and told him that his enemies had 
killed his servants in the fields, and taken away his 
oxen and asses. Then another came and said that his 
•sheep and shepherds had been killed by lightning. 
Still another came and told him that the Chaldeans 
had slain more of his servants, and stolen all his 
camels. Last of all came one and said that a wind 
from heaven had smitten his eldest son's house, and 
the house had fallen and killed his children. Then 
Job rent his clothes, and fell upon the ground, and 
worshipped. He answered, The Lord gave, and the 
Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the 
Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God 
foolishly. 

And again Satan received permission from God to 
afflict Job, and see if he could not make him sin. 
This time he was smitten with sore boils from head 
to foot. When his wife saw him thus afflicted, she 
said to him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? 
curse God and die. Job rebuked her for her folly, 
and said, Shall we receive good at the hand of God, 
and shall we not receive evil ? Three of his friends 
came to mourn with him, and to comfort him in his 
trouble. And they sat on the ground with Job 
seven days and seven nights, and none spake to him, 
for they saw that his grief was very great. Then 
Job opened his mouth, cursing the day of his birth, 
and wishing for death. And his friends reasoned 
with him, and tried to show him that his troubles 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



143 



had come on him because of his sins. Job, in return, 
acknowledged God's justice, and expressed his con- 
fidence in him, but reproving his friends for par- 
tiality, and complained of their cruelty. Then 
Elihu, another friend of Job, reproved both him and 
his three friends. And the Lord answered Job, and 
Job humbled himself ; and God commanded his 
friends to offer up for themselves a burnt-offering, 
and Job would pray for them, for he had accepted 
Job, w 7 ho had spoken of him the thing that was 
right. 

And God restored Job to health again, and made 
him even richer in servants and cattle than he had 
been before. His friends brought him presents ; 
and seven more sons and daughters were born to 
him, who were even njore beautiful than those he 
had lost. And Job lived, after the return of his 
prosperity, one hundred and forty years. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE STORY OF JONAH AND NINEVEH — NEBUCHAD- 
NEZZAR SETS UP AN IMAGE — THE THREE YOUNG 
HEBREW'S IN THE FIERY FURNACE — DANIEL IN 
THp DEN OF LIONS — THE STORY OF ESTHER — THE 
TEMPLE REBUILT. 

IN the reign of Jehu, king of Israel, there lived 
a prophet of the Lord named Jonah, and he was 
sent by God to warn the inhabitants of the 
great Assyrian city, Nineveh, that unless they re- 



144 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



pen ted he would destroy the city, for their wicked- 
ness had come up before him. But Jonah was 
afraid to deliver the message of warning; and in- 
stead, he went down to the seaport of Joppa, and 
took passage there in a ship for his own country. 
i\nd a great storm broke over the ship, and the 
sailors, who were heathens, began to cry upon their 
gods to help them. The master of the ship, finding 
Jonah asleep, bade him arise, and, like them, call 
upon his God. Then the sailors, believing that this 
trouble had come upon them because of some one 
in the ship, cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. 
And they asked him who he was, and Jonah replied 
that he was a Hebrew and a worshipper of the God 
of heaven, entreating them at the same time to cast 
him overboard, as he knew that God had sent the 
storm because of him. Now they were unwilling 
to do so, but as the storm did not abate, they prayed 
to the Lord not to lay innocent blood to their 
charge; and they cast Jonah into the sea, and 
immediately it became calm. Then the sailors wor- 
shipped the Lord, who had brought them deliver- 
ance. And a great fish was prepared, which swal- 
lowed Jonah; and he remained three days and three 
nights in the belly of the fish, praying to God. 
Then the fish cast Jonah out upon the dry land. 
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second 
time to go up to Nineveh. So Jonah went and*pro- 
claimed to the people of Nineveh that unless they 
repented, in forty days the city would be destroyed. 
And the king and the people of Nineveh believed 
God, and, repenting of their wickedness, he had 
compassion on them. But Jonah was not pleased 






STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



H5 



because God had been merciful and had spared the 
city; so he went and made himself a cool arbor out- 
side the walls, where he could see if the judgment 
he had spoken of would come to pass. As Jonah 
sat there a vine grew up in a single night, and 
afforded him a pleasant shade from the heat of the 
sun. But next morning a worm destroyed the vine, 
and made it wither, which caused Jonah to be 
angry. And God asked him if he did well to be 
angry about so small a matter. And Jonah said, I 
clo well to be angry even unto death. And God 
said to him, surely if he had pity on a plant which 
sprang up in a night and perished in a night, much 
more ought he to have pity on Nineveh, wherein 
were so many people, and thousands of them chil- 
dren. 

At the time when Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon, took captive Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 
and carried him away to Babylon, with the treasures 
of the house of God, he ordered the chief servant 
of his household to look out certain of the young 
Israelites to wait on him in his palace, and to be 
instructed in all the learning of the Chaldeans. 
They were to have daily provision from the king's 
table, and to drink of the king's wine. But four of 
these young men, named Shadrach, Meshach, Abed- 
nego and Daniel, would not eat the meat or drink 
the wine, because it had been offered to idols. So 
Daniel and his friends got permission from the 
steward who was set over them to live on vegetable 
food for ten days, and to drink water only. At the 
end of that time they were fairer and fatter than 
10 



146 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



the other young men who ate from the king's 
table. 

And God gave these youths knowledge and skill 
in all learning and wisdom; so much was this the 
case, that when they were brought before Nebuchad- 
nezzar he found that amongst his servants none 
were equal to Daniel and his three friends. Now 
the king dreamed a dream, and when he awoke it 
had passed from him, and he asked the wise men of 
Babylon to tell him his dream, and the intepreta- 
tion of it. And when they could not, the king was 
angry, and ordered that they should all be slain. 
When Daniel heard of this, he sent word to the 
king that if time were given him he would relate 
the dream and give the interpretation. And Daniel 
and his three friends prayed to the Lord, and he 
showed Daniel the dream and its interpretation. 
And Daniel, when he stood before the king, told 
him that it was not because lie was wiser than any 
one else that he was able to interpret the dream, 
but because God had showed it to him. Then he 
declared to the king as follows : 

The image which Nebuchadnezzar had seen in 
his dream had a head of fine gold, the breast and 
arms were of silver, the belly and the thighs of 
brass, and the feet were part iron and part clay. A 
stone cut out of a mountain, without hands, came 
and struck the feet of the image, dashing them to 
pieces, and causing it to fall, and it was broken into 
dust, which the wind blew away. The head of 
gold meant Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, which was 
the greatest in the world at the time; while the sil- 
ver, brass, iron, and clay meant other and lesser 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ^7 

kingdoms which should arise afier he was dead. 
The stone meant an everlasting kingdom which the 
God of heaven would set up, and which would 
never be destroyed. 

Nebuchadnezzar afterwards made an image of 
gold, and sent for all the chief men in his kingdom, 
and proclaimed to them that as soon as they heard 
the sound of music they were to fall down and wor- 
ship this image, and whoever did not fall down and 
worship it would be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 
But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, whom the 
king had made rulers, did not obey the summons; 
and accordingly they were bound in their coats and 
hats and cast into the burning fiery furnace. And 
the furnace was so hot that the men who cast them 
in were burned. But although these three captives 
fell bound into the fire, they soon rose up, and were 
seen by the king walking in the fire. And he was 
astonished at this strange sight, and said to his 
rulers, Did not we cast three men bound into the 
fire ? They answered and said, True, O king ! And 
the king said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in 
the midst of the fire, and the form of the fourth is 
like to the Son of God. And the king went to the 
mouth of the furnace, and called upon them to 
come out ; and when Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego came out, the smell of fire had not 
passed upon them. After this the king blessed their 
God, and made a decree that no one should speak 
evil of them, and promoted them to greater dignity 
than before. 

After this Nebuchadnezzar dreamed again. He 
beheld in his dream a great, tall, wide-spreading 



148 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



tree, the leaves whereof were fair and the fruit 
much; and a holy watcher came down from heaven, 
and ordered the tree to be cut down, and its leaves 
and fruit to be scattered, but the stump was to be left 
in the earth, and it was to be wet with the dew of 
heaven. Then Daniel interpreted the dream to the 
king, and told him that it shadowed forth what was 
to befall himself. He was to be driven forth from 
men, and made to eat grass like the oxen, and would 
be wet with the dew of heaven until he learned 
that the Most High ruled over all. When twelve 
months had passed, all this befell the king. He 
was driven into the fields, where he ate grass like 
an ox, and his body was wet with the dew. After 
seven years his understanding returned, and he 
blessed the Most High, whose dominion is an ever- 
lasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation 
to generation. 

After Nebuchadnezzar's death, Belshazzar his son 
reigned in his stead. And he held a great feast, 
with a thousand of his lords, and he commanded 
that the golden vessels should be brought which his 
father had taken from the temple at Jerusalem, in 
order to drink wine from them. So they drank 
wine, and praised their idols of gold, silver, iron, 
wood and stone. As they feasted, there came the 
hand of a man, and wrote an inscription upon the 
wall, which caused the king's face to change, and 
his heart to be filled with fear. None of the wise 
men could interpret the writing until Daniel was 
called, and he told the king that because he was 
high and lifted up, and had forgotten God, the in- 
scription, Mene, mene, TKKEL, UPHARSIN, meant 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



149 



that God had taken the kingdom from him and 
given it to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar 
commanded that Daniel should be clothed in scarlet, 
and have a gold chain round his neck, and should 
be proclaimed the third ruler in the kingdom. 

That same night Darius the Median took the 
kingdom, slew Belshazzar, and reigned in his stead. 

It pleased Darius to make Daniel the first of the 
three presidents who were over the hundred and 
twenty princes of his kingdom. But the others 
hated him, and tried to find occasion against him 
before the king. But they could find nothing 
against him, except concerning the law of his" God. 
So they persuaded the king to sign a decree, that 
whosoever should ask a petition of any god or man 
for thirty days, except from the king, should be 
cast into a den of lions. But when Daniel knew 
that the decree was signed, he went into his house, 
and the windows of his chamber being open toward 
Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees, and prayed 
and gave thanks to God three times a day. Then 
his accusers went and told the king. When the 
king heard this he was displeased with himself, and 
set his heart to deliver Daniel. But the decree 
could not be changed, and Darius commanded that 
Daniel should be cast into the den of lions, but said 
to him, Thy God, whom thou servest continually, 
will deliver thee. And a large stone was laid upon 
the mouth of the den. 

Darius went home to his palace depressed in 
spirit, and passed the night fasting. And early next 
morning he came to the den of lions, and cried with 
a lamentable voice, asking Daniel if the God in 



ISO 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



whom he trusted had delivered him. And Daniel 
replied, O king, live forever. My God hath sent 
his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that 
they have not hurt me, because I have not sinned 
against him; and also unto thee, Oking, I have done 
no wrong. And the king commanded that Daniel 
should be brought forth. And the men who had 
spoken against him were cast into the den of lions, 
with their wives and children; and immediately 
they were torn in pieces. 

In the first year of the reign of Darius, Daniel, 
understanding from the words of Jeremiah the 
prophet that the seventy years of captivity were 
nearly accomplished, set his face to seek the Lord 
God by prayer and supplication, confession of the 
sins of his people, and fasting. And while he was 
praying, the angel Gabriel touched him at the time 
of the evening oblation, and revealed to him that 
the Jews would be allowed to return to their own 
land, and build up Jerusalem, and that in about 
four hundred and eighty-three years afterwards the 
Messiah would be born. 

At the end of the seventy years the Lord stirred 
up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to permit 
the Jews to return to their own country. And the 
priests and Levites, and the men amongst the Jews 
whom the Lord had made willing, prepared to 
return to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of God; 
and Cyrus gave back the vessels of the temple to 
Zerubbabel, a prince of Judah. Over forty thou- 
sand persons returned at this time. They found 
Jerusalem in ruins, and the first thing they did was 
to rebuild the altar of the Lord, and offer the 



> 



H 

S3 



O 

d 

w 
2: 




152 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

appointed sacrifices thereon. They also began to 
rebuild the temple ; but they were stopped because 
of the false report sent to Artaxerxes, the successor 
of Cyrus. It was finished, however, in the reign of 
Artaxerxes' successor. 

While Ahasuerus ruled in Persia there were still 
many Jews living amongst his people who had not 
returned to Jerusalem. And in the third year of 
his reign the king made a great feast unto all his 
princes and servants, and he sent for his queen 
Vashti to come to the feast, with the crown upon 
her head, that his guests might see her beauty. 

But the queen refused to come ; and when the 
king took counsel of his wise men, they recom- 
mended that Vashti should come no more before the 
king, and that her royal estate should be given to 
another better than she. Now among the servants 
of the palace there was one Mordecai, a Jew, who 
had been the means of saving the king's life, and he 
had a very fair and beautiful cousin named Esther. 
Her he brought under the notice of the king, and 
she was chosen to be queen by Ahasuerus instead of 
Vashti. And the king had another servant named 
Hainan, whom Mordecai had offended by not bowing 
down to him. Now Haman was full of wrath at 
Mordecai, but he scorned to lay hands on him alone, 
but sought rather to slay all the Jews that were in 
the land. So he sought the king's permission to 
make a decree that all the Jews should be destroyed, 
offering, if it were granted to him, to put ten thou- 
sand talents of silver into the king's treasury. The 
king gave Haman permission to do to the Jews as 
it seemed good to him; and it was ordered that on a 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



153 



certain day the Persians were to fall upon the Jews, 
kill them, and take all their possessions to them- 
selves. And copies of the decree were sent through- 
out Persia to all the rulers and governors. Now 
when Mordecai heard this he clothed himself in 
sackcloth, and mourned and wept, and sent a mes- 
sage to Queen Esther to intercede with the king on 
behalf of the Jews. 

Then Esther bethought her of a plan to save her 
people. Although there was a law that whoever 
approached the king unasked should be put to 
death, yet Esther dressed herself in her royal robes, 
and went in and stood before him in the inner 
palace. And the king looked favorably upon her, 
and asked what was her request, for he would grant 
it even to the half of his kingdom. Then the 
queen requested that the king and Hainan should 
come that day to a banquet which she had made 
ready for them. The king consented, and Hainan 
went to the banquet with a proud heart. The 
queen invited the king and Haman to another feast 
next day. But before going to the feast Haman 
caused a gallows to be erected, intending to ask the 
king that Mordecai might be hanged upon it. On 
the following night, the king, being sleepless, 
caused the records of the kingdom to be read to 
him, and it was found written therein that Morde- 
cai had warned him of a plot against his life. And 
on inquiring of his servants he found that Morde- 
cai received no reward for the great service per- 
formed by him. ~ 

Next day, when Haman came before the king, he 
asked him what should be done to the man whom 



*54 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 



the king delighted to honor. Haman, thinking 
Ahasuerus meant himself, said, Let the royal ap- 
parel be put upon that man, and let him ride upon 
the king's horse, led by one of the princes. So the 
king ordered Haman to prepare at once to do this 
honor to Mordecai the Jew. And Mordecai was led 
in state through the streets of the city, dressed in 
the royal robes, sitting on the king's horse, and 
with a crown upon his head. After this honor 
Mordecai sat down again in his place at the king's 
gate; but Haman went home mourning because of 
the honor done to his enemy. 

When the king and Haman were again seated at 
Esther's banquet, Ahasuerus asked what was her 
request. For answer she asked that her own life 
and the lives of her people might be given to her; 
for a decree had been issued that she and her people 
should be killed. The king asked who it was, and 
where he was, who had presumed to do this thing. 
Esther said, The adversary and the enemy is this 
wicked Haman. And the king was wroth, and 
caused Haman to be hanged on the gallows that he 
had prepared for Mordecai; and Mordecai was made 
ruler in the king's house in place of Haman. 
Another decree was sent out over all the land, grant- 
ing to the Jews power, in the day in which the 
slaughter was to take place, to meet together and 
defend themselves against all who should rise against 
them. 

Ninety years after Zerubbabel had gone down from 
Persia to Jerusalem, a Jew named Nehemiah, who 
was cupbearer to Artaxerxes, received permission 
from that king to go down to Jerusalem and repair 



H 

X 

w 

> 
w 
r 

"h 
w 

in 

w 

H 

a 
3 

Q 

H 
O 



W 

a 

> 
r 
w 




I5 6 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

its ruined walls. And lie found many enemies there 
who hindered him in his work, so that while half of 
the men of Israel worked on the wall, the other half 
had to defend the workers with swords, spears and 
bows. Those who were building also carried swords 
with them, and a trumpeter was stationed near them 
to warn the builders of the approach of any hostile 
person. When the wall was built, Sanballat and 
Tobiah, and other enemies of the Jews, were wroth, 
and they tempted Nehemiah to come out without 
the wall and speak with them. But Nehemiah re- 
fused, and thus their plans against the Jews were 
defeated. The wall was finished in fifty-two days, 
after which it was dedicated to the Lord by the 
priests, Levites, and the people. And Nehemiah 
ordered that the religious feasts appointed by Moses 
should be kept. But soon the people forgot the 
Lord; and when Nehemiah came back from Persia, 
whither he had gone, he found that the Jews had 
married heathen wives, were breaking the Sabbath, 
and neglecting to maintain their religious services. 
So Nehemiah warned them of the dangers into 
which they had fallen, and showed them that they 
were committing the same sin for which their 
fathers had been punished in the wilderness. 

There was now a remnant of the people of Israel 
in their own land awaiting the coming of the 
Messiah. The prophets who uttered God's message 
to them, and also spoke of the coming of Christ, 
were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and twelve 
others, ending with Malachi, who, being last, is 
called the " Seal of the Prophets." A collection of 
poems, praise songs, or psalms, some of them written 



STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 157 

by Moses and Solomon, but mostly by David, was 
also in the possession of the Jews at this time, and 
has been the prized heritage of the Church as an aid 
in prayer and praise through all the ages. David, 
assisted by the musician Asaph, seems first to have 
gathered these Psalms together to be sung in the 
temple service. Probably Ezra, who is supposed, 
when he settled in his own land, to have gathered 
together most of the books of the Old Testament, 
also completed the collection of Psalms as we have 
them now. 

For over four hundred years we hear no more 
about the history of the Jews from the Bible. But 
we know from other books something about the 
people of the kingdom of Judah: that they remained 
servants to the king of Persia for about a hundred 
years after the time that Nehemiah returned from 
Babylon. Even while Nehemiah lived the Samari- 
tans had erected on Mount Gerizim (near Samaria) a 
rival temple to that of the Jews at Jerusalem. 
Alexander the Great, on his way to conquer the 
whole East, took Jerusalem, and carried away a 
great number of the Jews to Egypt in order to 
people Alexandria. Ptolemy, one of his generals, 
who became king of Egypt, invaded Syria, took 
Jerusalem about three hundred years before the 
coming of Christ, and carried off about a hundred 
thousand of the people to settle in Alexandria and 
Cyrene. The Jews gained a great deal of refine- 
ment and learning from their Greek conquerors. 
But under one of the Egyptian kings the temple 
of Jerusalem was dedicated to the worship of 
false gods, and all the national feelings of the 



1 58 STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Jews were outraged. The yoke of the Syrians, to 
whom they were afterwards subject, was broken, 
chiefly by the Jews led by the brave family of 
Mattathia and Judas Maccabaeus. The brothers of 
the latter after his death completed the ascendency 
of the Jews, and established the Sanhedrim, or 
Jewish religious council. Two brothers disputing 
for ascendency as to who should be king, led to the 
interference of the Romans, who made Judea de- 
pendent on the Roman province of Syria. One of 
the governors of Galilee, named Herod, a fierce and 
cruel man, by the help of the Romans, conquered 
Jerusalem thirty-seven years before the birth of 
Christ. After ruling about eighteen years, to con- 
ciliate the people, he rebuilt the temple upon Mount 
Moriah. But there was no ark now to put in the 
holy place; most likely it was lost during the cap- 
tivity. Outside Herod's temple, which glittered 
with plates of brass, gold and silver, there was a 
court called the Court of the Gentiles, which had 
nine large and beautiful gates, the finest of which 
was called the Beautiful Gate. 

[All the history and biography in the Old Testament is but an 
introduction to the New Testament, and points forward towards, 
and prepares the way for, the coming of Christ, the Saviour of 
the world.] 




i6o 



SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME 



THE STORY 

Of the New Testament 



CHAPTER I 

PALESTINE AT THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD — THE 
FORERUNNER — THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY — 
THE SAVIOUR BORN IN BETHLEHEM — HEROD 
SLAYS THE YOUNG CHILDREN — THE FLIGHT INTO 
EGYPT — THE PREACHING OF JOHN — BAPTISM OF 
THE CHRIST. 

PALESTINE, at the time when our Lord was 
born, was divided into three provinces. 
Judea lay to the south, with its capital, Jerusa- 
lem, the holy city, where stood the temple, to which 
the people resorted three times a year to hold the 
solemn feasts ordained by the law of Moses. It has 
been estimated that at the passover three millions 
of people thronged the streets of Jerusalem, most of 
whom came up to offer sacrifices, for in no other 
place could sacrifices be offered to the God of Israel. 
In the north lay Galilee, with its interesting lake, 
where our Lord lived for so many years, and did so 
many mighty works. Between those two districts lay 
Samaria, inhabited by a race descended from a 
heathen colony, who had largely intermarried with 

ii (16,) 



1 62 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

the Jews, but between whom and the Jews the most 
bitter enmity existed. 

The prosperity of the descendants of the patriarchs 
had now come to an end. They were under the 
Roman yoke, and much discontent prevailed among 
them because of the heavy taxes they had to pay. 
Many a devout heart was longing and praying for 
the coming of the Messiah, the Deliverer. The 
popular idea was that he would come as a mighty 
king, able to conquer all his enemies, and keep 
them under; not many were prepared to welcome 
the lowly child Jesus as the Saviour of the world. 

At this time, when Herod reigned over Judea, 
there lived a priest called Zacharias, and his wife's 
name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous 
before God, walking in all the commandments and 
ordinances of the Lord, blameless. And they had 
no children. Now Zacharias was in the temple 
burning incense, according to the custom of the 
priest's office, when an angel appeared unto him. 
He was at first afraid, but the angel bade him fear 
not; and told him that God would one day give him 
a son, who was to be called John, meaning, The 
Lord is gracious. His parents would have joy and 
gladness at his birth, and not only they, but many 
more would rejoice thereat. He was to be a Nazarite 
— that is, he was to drink neither wine nor strong 
drink — and he was to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Zacharias did not at first believe the good news, 
and when he asked for a sign the angel told him that 
he was Gabriel, who stood in the presence of the 
Lord, and was sent to tell him these glad tidings; 



> 

G 



O 
2 




1 64 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

and also that because of his unbelief, he should be 
unable to speak until the child was born. 

The people who were praying in the outer court 
of the temple wondered why the priest did not come 
out, but when he did come, and was unable to speak, 
they knew he had seen a vision. 

About six months after this the angel Gabriel was 
sent from God, on a similar errand, to a village in 
Galilee called Nazareth, to Mary, the espoused wife 
of a man called Joseph. They, were poor people, 
but both of them belonged to the house of David. 

The angel came in unto Mary, and said, Hail, 
thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee : 
blessed art thou among women ! Mary was troubled 
at his saying, and wondered what the meaning of it 
could be, but the angel said unto her, Fear not, 
Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. Then 
he told her how she should bear a son, whom she 
was to call Jesus, because he would save his people 
from their sins. He shall be great; and shall be 
called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God 
shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 
and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; 
and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Mary 
wondered, but did not doubt like Zacharias. In 
deep humility she made answer, Behold the hand- 
maid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy 
word. Now Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, and 
Mary were cousins and the angel had told Mary that 
Elizabeth was to have a son; so Mary went to visit 
her and rejoice with her. 

The great honor conferred upon Mary must have 
been revealed to Elizabeth, for when she entered her 






Q 
M 

r 
> 

►a 

c/j 

H 
O 

H 

r 

N 
> 

w 

H 




1 66 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

house she said to her, Blessed art thou among 
women. But Mary, giving all the glory to God, 
burst forth into a hymn of praise, beginning, My 
soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath 
rejoiced in God my Saviour. Mary stayed with her 
cousin three months, and then returned home. 

When Elizabeth's son was born, there was great 
joy in their house because of his birth. On the 
eighth day the child was circumcised, and the friends 
and relations wished to call him Zacharias, but his 
mother said, Not so, but he shall be called John. 
And they made signs to his father how he would 
have him called; and he asked for a writing-table, 
and wrote, His name is John. 

And immediately the tongue of Zacharias was 
loosed, and he praised God. The people marvelled 
to see this, and asked one another, What manner of 
child shall this be? 

At this time a decree was issued by the Roman 
Emperor that the Jews should be taxed. This 
caused much disturbance throughout the country, as 
those Jews scattered up and down had to find their 
way to their native city, there to answer to their 
names, and give an account of their possessions. 
Thus Joseph and M£ry, being of the lineage of David, 
had to journey from Nazareth south to the city of 
David called Bethlehem. Here, shortly after their 
arrival, the holy child Jesus was born. Owing to 
the crowded state of the city there was no room for 
them in the inn, so the Lord Jesus found his first 
resting-place in a manger. 

In the neighborhood of Bethlehem some shepherds 
were watching their flocks by night, probably owing 



1 68 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

to the disturbed state of the country. Perhaps in 
the stillness of the night they were talking of the 
coming of the Messiah, when lo, a shining one ap- 
peared unto them, who said, Fear not, for behold, I 
bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be 
to all people. For unto you is born this day in the 
city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 
And this shall be a sign unto you : Ye shall find the 
babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a 
manger. When the angel finished speaking, there 
appeared a great company of the heavenly host, 
praising God, and this was their song: Glory to God 
in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards 
men. Then they returned to heaven, and when the 
shepherds had recovered from their amazement, they 
rose up and proceeded to Bethlehem, where they 
found Mary and the child, as the angel had said. 
They told Mary all they had seen, but she kept silence, 
and thought over all these things in bee heart. 
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising 
God. 

When the holy child was eight days old he was 
circumcised, and received the name Jesus. After 
forty days had passed he was taken to the temple to 
be presented to the Lord, and also that Joseph might 
offer sacrifice according to the law of Moses. 

While in the temple an aged man, called Simeon, 
seeing the holy child, through faith recognized him 
to be the Saviour, and taking him in his arms he 
uttered those beautiful words, Lord, now lettest 
thou thy servant depart in peace according to A thy 
word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. And 
there was in the temple at the same time a prophetess 



H 

> 

O 
W 

CO 

> 

W 
> 

2 

H 

o 

H 
X 
M 

CO 

W 
*d 

W 

a 

CO 




I 7 o STORY OP THE NEW TESTAMENT 

called Anna, who also waited for the coming of the 
Saviour, and seeing him now she gave thanks to 
the Lord. 

We can imagine how all these wonderful events 
would be talked over quietly among the people for 
fear of Herod, who was noted for his cowardice and 
cruelty. But in spite of all precautions the knowl- 
edge of the Saviour's birth came to him, and in a 
strange manner. 

Far away in an eastern land, learned men had 
been studying the heavens. It was generally be- 
lieved over all the then known world that a great 
deliverer was to be born unto the Jews, and his 
coming was to be indicated by a new star. These 
wise men having discovered a new star, followed its 
course, travelling by night, until they came to the 
land of Palestine. It was quite natural they should 
at once proceed to Jerusalem, the capital, and there 
expect to find this prince in one of its palaces. But 
to all their inquiries no one could give a satisfactory 
answer. Herod was troubled when he heard of the 
inquiries of these wise men, for he, like many 
others, believed that a prince and a ruler would 
come, and thus he would lose his kingdom. So he 
inquired of the chief priests where Christ should be 
born. They said in Bethlehem. He then desired 
the wise men, when they had found the child, to 
bring him word, that he might go and worship like- 
wise. In this request he showed his treachery, for 
not worship but murder was the desire of Herod's 
heart. 

The wise men then left Jerusalem, and seeing the 
star once more, they followed it until it stood over the 



172 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

place where the young child lay. Then they wor- 
shipped the Saviour, and laid at his feet the costly 
presents they had brought, which showed their love, 
obedience, and worship. 

God having warned them in a dream not to return 
to Herod, they went to their own country by another 
way. And when Herod saw that the wise men did 
not return, he was very angry, and sent soldiers to 
Bethlehem to kill all the children of two years old 
and under. 

But the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and 
commanded him to take the young child and his 
mother, and flee into Egypt. And Joseph and Mary, 
with the young child, departed by night for the land 
of Egypt, where they remained until the danger 
was over. 

After the death of Herod they returned to their 
home in the city of Nazareth. The country round 
about Nazareth is very beautiful, but what interests 
us most is not the beauty of the country so much as 
the thought that here the boyhood of Jesus was 
spent. We wonder how that boyhood was passed ; 
what he said, and felt, especially about the world he 
had come to save. These questions cannot be 
answered. For twelve years the life of Jesus is 
wrapped in unbroken silence. We only know that 
he grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with 
wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. 

When Jesus was about twelve years old Joseph 
and Mary took him to Jerusalem to the feast of the 
Passover. This was a long journey from Nazareth, 
but it happened at a good season of the year, after 
the summer's heat and before the winter's rain be- 



H 
X 
W 

r 

o 

5 

H 
O 

M 




174 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



gan to fall. When the feast was over, Joseph and 
Mary set out on their return journey, but Jesus 
tarried in Jerusalem, and Joseph and Mary were 
some distance from Jerusalem before Jesus was 
missed. Not finding him among their kinsfolk and 
friends, they returned to Jerusalem, and after three 
days they found him in the temple among the 
teachers of the law, both hearing and asking them 
questions. And when they saw him they were 
amazed, and his mother said, Son, why hast thou 
thus dealt with us ? Behold, thy father and I have 
sought thee sorrowing. Jesus answered, How is it 
that ye sought me ? Wist ye not that I must be 
about my Father's business? He would have his 
mother know that implicit obedience to his heavenly 
Father was the first rule of his life. Still, although 
the Son of God, he yielded to them the true obedience 
of a son, and returned with them to Nazareth, where, 
we doubt not, he labored with Joseph at the car- 
penter's bench for his own support and that of the 
family. 

For the next eighteen years there is silence re- 
specting the life of Jesus. We only know that he 
grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God 
and man. 

While this quiet life at Nazareth was going on, 
John, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, was being 
prepared by the Holy Spirit for the great work he 
had to do. We are told that he was in the desert 
till the day of his showing unto Israel, that he was 
clothed with a garment of camel's hair, and with a 
leather girdle about his waist, and that his food con- 
sisted of locusts and wild honey. 



c 



w 

c 

3 

Q 



H 

H 
M 
W 

o 
o 
n 

H 

O 




lyS STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

When John was about thirty years of age the 
word of God came unto him in the wilderness; so in 
obedience to the command he went about all the 
country round Jordan, preaching the gospel of re- 
pentance, denouncing the evil habits of the people, 
and baptizing such as repented and confessed their 
sins. Hence he was called John the Baptist. 

And when the people mused in their hearts 
whether John were the Christ or not, he told them 
that he indeed baptized them with water, but one 
mightier than he was coining, the latchet of whose 
shoe he was not worthy to unloose; he would bap- 
tize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire. 

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto 
John to be baptized. But John refused, saying that 
he had need to be baptized by him. But Jesus 
answered, Suffer it to be so; for thus it becometh us 
to fulfil all righteousness. 

John then baptized Jesus, and as he came out of 
the water the heavens were opened, and he saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting 
upon him; while a voice was heard, saying, This is 
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 



o 

ha 

> 
O 

s 



H 
W 



t- 1 


w 

PC 
M 




i 7 8 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER II 



JESUS TEMPTED OF THE DEVIL— JESUS BEGINS 
HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY — THE BAPTIST SLAIN BY 
KEROD — HIS FIRST TWO DISCIPLES — HIS FIRST 
MIRACLE AT CANA — HE CASTS THE BUYERS AND 
SELLERS OUT OF THE TEMPLE — JESUS AND 
NICODEMUS — HE DISCOURSES TO A SAMARITAN 
WOMAN. 

JESUS did not remain with John the Baptist, for 
the Spirit led him away into the wilderness, 
where he tarried forty days and forty nights, 
enduring the pangs of hunger and the assaults of 
the Evil One. A mystery we are unable to pene- 
trate overshadows these forty days, but we know 
that there he suffered the first pangs of that grief 
with which he was wounded for our transgressions 
and bruised for our iniquities. He was tempted on 
all points like as we are, in order that when we 
draw near to him we may feel that there is no bar- 
rier between him and us, for in that he suffered 
being tempted he is able to succor them that are 
tempted. 

While Jesus was in the wilderness the preaching 
and baptizing of John the Baptist attracted the 
attention of the Sanhedrim, or great council of the 
nation. It was their duty to inquire into any new 
religious rite, and investigate the authority and 
doctrine of any new preacher; therefore they sent 
some of their members to question John. They 
asked him if he were the Christ? or Elias? or that 



H 

W 

H 
W 

> 
O 

o 







jgo story of the new testament 

prophet ? To all these questions he answered, No. 
Then they said to him, Who art thou? What 
sayest thou of thyself? John answered, I am the 
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight 
the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. 
Evidently not understanding this answer, they in- 
quired by what authority he baptized. He an- 
swered, I baptize with water, but there standeth one 
among you, whom ye know not; he it is who, com- 
ing after me, is preferred before me, whose shoe 
latchet I am not worthy to unloose. John after this 
became a marked man, and his enemies went so far 
as to say, He hath a devil. 

After Jesus had returned from being tempted in 
the wilderness he went to the banks of the Jordan, 
where John was still preaching and baptizing. On 
observing Jesus approach, John exclaimed, Behold 
the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the 
world. There were two of the Baptist's apostles 
with him when he uttered these w T ords, and they 
immediately followed Jesus. One of them was 
Andrew; the other, whose name is not given, is 
generally supposed to be the apostle John. When 
Jesus saw them following, he turned and- asked 
what they sought. They said, Master, where dwell- 
est thou ? Jesus said, Come and see; and they abode 
with him that day. 

These men were fishermen, and this is the first 
beginning of the Christian Church. 

The next day Andrew brought his brother Simon 
to Jesus, telling him he had found the Messiah. 
When Jesus saw Simon, he said to him, Thou art 
Simon, the son of Jona; thou shalt be called 



1 82 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone. Jesus, 
who could read the hearts of all men, saw in Peter 
a confident boldness, which when purified by the 
Holy Spirit would be serviceable to his cause. 
Hence the name he bestowed, Peter, a stone, or 
rock, meaning firmness, boldness, strength. 

The next day Jesus called to him another disciple 
named Philip, probably a friend of Andrew and 
Peter. To him Jesus said, Follow me. He was 
willing to do so, but went first to his friend Nathan- 
ael, to whom he imparted the glad news of his find- 
ing in Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah. Nathau- 
ael belonged to the village of Cana, situated a 
few miles from Nazareth. He doubtingly asked 
Philip, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? 
Philip answered, Come and see. When Jesus saw 
Nathanael coming, he said of him, Behold an 
Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. Nathanael 
asked, Whence knowest thou me ? Jesus replied, 
Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast 
under the fig-tree, I saw thee. 

Then Nathanael believed, and said, Rabbi, thou 
art the Son of God. Nathanael is generally sup- 
posed to be the same apostle who bore the name of 
Bartholomew. 

With these five followers, all natives of Galilee, 
began the public life of Jesus. 

Some time after this John was cast into prison by 
•Herod, because he had reproved him, and told him 
it was not lawful for him to have his brother's wife. 
For this Herod would have him put to death, but 
he feared the people, because they counted John a 
prophet, But Herodias, Herod's wife and com- 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ^ 

panion in sin, hated John because of his reproof, 
and resolved that he should die. 

She found a convenient time on Herod's birthday. 
Herod had adopted the celebration of birthdays 
from the Romans, and accordingly he gave a great 
supper, and invited his lords and his chief captains 
to it. And Salome, the daughter of Herodias by 
her former husband, appeared before the company 
and danced. She so pleased Herod and them that 
sat with him, that he swore unto her, Whatsoever 
thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the 
half of my kingdom. And the young girl went to 
her mother, who told her to ask for the head of 
John the Baptist. And she returned and said to 
the king, Give me here John Baptist's head in a 
charger. And the king was sorry; nevertheless for 
his oath's sake, he commanded it to be given her. 
And John was beheaded in prison, and his head 
given to the damsel, and she took it to her mother. 

We next find our Lord at Cana of Galilee, where 
a marriage was being celebrated. Mary, the mother 
of Jesus, was there, and he and his disciples were 
invited. The mother of Jesus seems to have taken 
some active part in the management of the feast, for 
on discovering that they wanted wine, sh v e turned to 
Jesus and said, They have no wine. Jesus said, 
Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour 
is not yet come. Then Mary said to the attendants, 
Whatsoever he sayeth to you, do it. Seeing six 
water-pots standing by, he told the servants to fill 
them with water to the brim, and then to draw forth. 
This they did, and bore it to the governor of the 
feast. Not being aware of the miracle, he tasted 



1 84 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



the wine, and called to the bridegroom, Every man 
at the beginning doth set forth good wine, but thou 
hast kept the good wine until now. 

After this Jesus went with his mother and disciples 
to Capernaum, a city on the Sea of Galilee, and there 
remained a few days until the time for going up to 
Jerusalem to keep the feast of the Passover. 

This was Jesus' first visit to Jerusalem since his 
baptism. On going into the temple he found three 
men selling oxen, sheep and do^es; also the changers 
of money. And when he had made a scourge of 
small cords, he drove them out of the temple witli 
it, saying, Take these things hence: make not my 
Father's house an house of merchandise. 

And when the Jews asked him for a sign that he 
had a right to do this, he replied, Destroy this temple, 
and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the 
Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in build- 
ing, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? Jesus 
spake of the temple of his body, but they did not 
understand. Neither did his disciples at that time, 
but after the resurrection they remembered his words. 

During the Passover week Jesus wrought many 
miracles, and many believed on him because of the 
miracles, but their faith was weak. 

Among these was a man named Nicodemus, one 
of the Pharisees, and a ruler of the Jews. He came 
to Jesus by night, being unwilling probably to com- 
mit himself publicly to the new doctrine. He ad- 
mitted to Jesus that he knew he was a teacher come 
from God from the miracles which he did. Jesus 
expounded to him the nature of the new birth, say- 
ing to him, Except a man be born of water and of 




CHANGING THE WATER INTO WINE 



185 



1 86 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 
When Nicodemus asked, How can these things be? 
Jesus said, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the 
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life. 

After this Jesus left Jerusalem, and came into 
Judea, but the jealousy of the Pharisees compelled 
him to depart again into Galilee. Between Judea 
and Galilee lay the country of Samaria, and Jesus 
must needs go through that country, although the 
hostility of the Samaritans to the Jews was well 
known. When he came near to a city called Sychar, 
being wearied with his journey, he sat down to rest, 
by a well, called Jacob's Well, while his disciples 
went into the town to buy bread. As he sat there a 
Samaritan woman came out to draw water. Jesus 
said to her, Give me to drink. She expressed her 
surprise at a Jew asking a favor from a Samaritan. 
But Jesus said, If thou knewest the gift of God, and 
who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou 
wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given 
thee living water. The woman understood not this 
saying about living water, but Jesus said to her, 
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 
but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give 
him shall never thirst; for it shall be a well of water 
springing up into everlasting life. Then he revealed 
to her that he knew all her past life; and the woman 
said, Sir, I believe that thou art a prophet. Jesus 



2 
< 

o 

H 
W 

W 

r 
t- 1 

w 

O 

H 

W 



r 




!88 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

went on to speak unto her of the spiritual nature of 
worship, teaching her the great truth that God is a 
Spirit, and they that worship him must do so in 
spirit and truth. When the woman had declared 
that she knew about the promised Messiah, Jesus 
said to her, I that speak unto thee am he. 

When the disciples returned they were astonished 
to find Jesus engaged in talking with a Samaritan 
woman, but they asked him no questions. The 
woman then left her water-pot, and called on her 
friends and neighbors to come and see a man who 
had told her all things that ever she did, saying, Is 
not this the Christ? And they followed her. 

In the meantime the disciples were urging Jesus 
to eat, saying, Master, eat. But he answered,* I have 
meat to eat that ye know not of. The disciples said 
one to another, Hath -any man brought him aught to 
eat? Jesus said, My meat is to do the will of him 
that sent me, and to finish his work. 

Many of the Samaritans believed on him for the 
saying of the woman, and besought him that he 
would tarry with them. Our Lord yielded to their 
request, and remained two days. And many more 
believed because of his own word; and said unto the 
woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying; 
for we have heard him ourselves, and know this is 
indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 



w 

a 

w 

> 

O 
H 
W 

o 

> 
z 

o 

C/J 

> ' 




I90 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER III 

JESUS HEALS THE NOBLEMAN'S SON — HE TEACHES 
IN THE SYNAGOGUE AT NAZARETH — THE MIRACLE 
OF THE FISHES— HE TEACHES IN THE SYNA- 
GOGUE AT CAPERNAUM — AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT 
CAST OUT — PETER'S WIFE'S MOTHER HEALED — 
OTHER MIRACLES OF HEALING — MATTHEW 
CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE. 

OUR Lord now went into Galilee, where he was 
well received by the people. They had been 
at the Passover in Jerusalem, and had seen his 
wonderful works there. 

Jesus came again into Cana, where he had per- 
formed his first miracle by turning water into wine, 
and it was now to be the scene of his second. 

A certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Ca- 
pernaum, hearing that Jesus had come to Galilee, 
went unto him, and requested him to come down and 
heal his son, for he was at the point of death. But 
Jesus said to him, Except ye see signs and wonders, 
ye will not believe. The nobleman, not disheartened 
by this reply, said, Sir, come down ere my child die. 
Then Jesus said, Go thy way, thy son liveth. The 
nobleman believed the word that Jesus had spoken, 
and went his way. 

Next day, as he was going down to Capernaum, 
his servants met him, and said, Thy son liveth. On 
inquiring at what hour the child began to mend, he 
found it to be the same at which Jesus said, Thy son 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



I 9 I 



liveth. And the nobleman and his whole house 
believed in Jesus. 

And Jesus came to Nazareth, the city of his child- 
hood, and as his custom was, went into the syna- 
gogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to .read. 
And they handed to him the Book of Isaiah, and 
Jesus opened the book and read, The Spirit of the 
Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to 
preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to 
heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to 
the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, 
to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the 
acceptable year of the Lord. 

He then closed the book, and returning it to the 
minister, sat down. All eyes were now fastened 
upon Jesus, and he said unto them, This day is 
this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And they 
wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out 
of his mouth, and said one to another, Is not this 
Joseph's son? But Jesus knew their thoughts, and 
said, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, 
Physician, heal thyself; whatsoever we have heard 
done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 
But verily, I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in 
his own country. He then reminded them that 
although there were many widows in Israel when it 
rained not for three years and six months, yet Elijah 
went to none of them save unto the widow of 
Sarepta, a city of Sidon. And many lepers were in 
Israel in the days of Elisha, but none were cleansed 
but Naaman the Syrian. They understood his 
meaning — namely, that if they rejected him, he 
would turn to the Gentiles. And they were filled 



I9 3 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

with wrath, and rushing out of the synagogue they 
thrust Jesus out of the city, and led him to the brow 
of the hill on which the city was built, that they 
might cast him down headlong. But Jesus' hour 
was not yet come, and passing through the midst of 
them he went his way. 

Leaving Nazareth, Jesus journeyed towards Caper- 
naum, a city of Galilee, where he taught on the 
Sabbath days. And the people were astonished at 
his doctrine, for his word was with power, and they 
brought unto him them that were sick with divers 
diseases, and he laid his hands on them and healed 
them. 

While he stood by the shore ot the lake, the 
people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, 
and seeing two ships lying at the water's edge, 
Jesus requested Simon to thrust out a little from the 
land. And he sat down and taught the people out 
of the ship. 

When he had done speaking, Jesus told Peter to 
launch out into the deep, and let down his nets for a 
draught. Peter obeyed, but said they had toiled all 
night and had caught nothing. On drawing up the 
net, it was so full they beckoned unto their partners 
in the other ship to come and help. And both the 
ships were filled, so that they began to sink. When 
Peter saw this miracle, he fell down at the feet of 
Jesus, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful 
man, O Lord ! Jesus said unto him, Fear not; from 
henceforth thou shalt catch men. When they had 
brought their ships to land, they left all and followed 
Jesus. And when he had gone a little further Jesus 
saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, mending 




THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. 
x 3 193 



194 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



their nets, and straightway he called them; and they 
left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired 
servants, and went after him. 

The next Sabbath day Jesus again repaired to the 
synagogue, and taught the people; and they were 
astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one 
that had authority, and not as the scribes. 

While he was speaking, there was in the synagogue 
a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, Let us 
alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of 
Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us ? I know 
thee, who thou art, the holy one of God. And 
Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and commanded it 
to come out of the man. And when it had torn 
him, it came out of him, crying with a loud voice. 

This was the first miracle of this kind Jesus had 
wrought. The people were filled with amazement, 
and the fame of Jesus spread abroad throughout all 
the region round about Galilee. 

After the miracle Jesus retired to Simon Peter's 
house. There he found Peter's mother-in-law lying 
sick of a fever. He went to her, and taking her by 
the hand, lifted her up; and immediately the fever 
left her, and she arose and ministered unto them. 

And at even they brought unto him they that 
were sick, and them that were possessed with devils, 
and he had compassion on them and healed them. 

In the morning he rose early, a great while before 
day, and seeking out a solitary place, held com- 
munion with his Father in heaven. But Simon, 
and they that were with him, followed him, and 
said, All men seek thee. And he said unto them, 
L,et us go into the next town, that I may preach 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT I95 

there also; for therefor came I forth. And he 
preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, 
and cast out devils. 

And there came a man to him afflicted with the 
loathsome and incurable disease of leprosy, and 
kneeling down, he said, Lord, if thou wilt, thou 
canst make me clean. Jesus, looking at him with 
eyes full of pity, put forth his hand, and touching 
him, said, I will; be thou clean. And his leprosy 
departed from him. And Jesus charged him to tell 
no man, but go to the priest, and offer for his cleans- 
ing the things commanded by Moses. But the man 
noised abroad his cure, so that Jesus could no 
longer enter the city openly, but withdrew to desert 
places. 

After some days Jesus returned again to Caper- 
naum, and as soon as it was known great crowds 
followed, insomuch that there was no room in the 
house where he was to receive them; and he 
preached the word unto them. While he was speak- 
ing, four men carrying a bed, in which lay a par- 
alytic man, tried to reach Jesus, but they could not 
come nigh unto him for the crowd. So they 
uncovered the roof and let down the bed whereon 
lay the paralytic man. When Jesus saw their faith, 
he said unto the sick man, Son, thy sins be for- 
given thee. But the scribes who sat there reasoned 
in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak 
blasphemies ? Who can forgive sins but God ? 
Jesus, answering their unspoken thoughts, asked 
them whether it was easier to say, Thy sins be for- 
given thee, or Arise, and take up thy bed, and 
walk? And to show that he had all power he 



I 9 6 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

turned to the palsied man, and said, Arise, and take 
up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And 
immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went 
forth before them all. And they were all amazed, 
and glorified God. 

After this Jesus walked again by the shore of the 
lake, and he passed by a man sitting at the " receipt 
of custom," that is, collecting the Roman taxes 
from the people. These tax collectors were called 
Publicans, and were hated by the people. From 
one of this class our Lord now chose his next dis- 
ciple, saying to Levi, the tax collector, Follow me. 
And he arose and followed him. He was afterwards 
known by the name of Matthew, and to his pen we 
owe the first of the Gospels. And Jesus went to 
Matthew's house, and sat down to meat with him 
and many other Publicans. And the Pharisees 
were surprised at Jesus eating and drinking with 
Publicans and sinners. But when he heard it, he 
said, They that are whole have no need of the 
physician, but they that are sick; I came not to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 




CURING THE PARALYTIC 



197 



198 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER IV 



THE RAISING OF JAIRUS' DAUGHTER — THE HEAL- 
ING OF THE WOMAN WHO TOUCHED THE HEM OF 
JESUS' GARMENT, OF TWO BUND MEN, OF A DUMB 
MAN, OF THE MAN AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA — 
THE PHARISEES REBUKED — THE HEALING OF THE 
MAN WITH THE WITHERED HAND — THE TWELVE 
APOSTLES CHOSEN — THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 
— THE HEALING OF THE CENTURION'S SERVANT 
— THE SON OF A WIDOW AT NAIN RAISED FROM 
THE DEAD — A WOMAN WASHES JESUS' FEET WITH 
HER TEARS — HE CASTS OUT A DEVIL. 

AT this time one of the rulers of the synagogue, 
- named Jairus, came to Jesus, beseeching him 
to come and raise his daughter, who lay 
dying. She was his only daughter, aged twelve 
years. Such was the faith of the ruler that he 
thought if Jesus would but lay his hand upon her 
she would live. Jesus went with him, and a large 
crowd followed after. 

And as he went, a woman came behind him and 
touched the hem of his garment. She had an in- 
curable disease, and she said to herself, If I may 
but touch his garment, I shall be whole. Jesus 
turned, and seeing the woman, said unto her, 
Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And 
she was whole from that hour. 

On reaching the house of the ruler he found it 
full of people, weeping and lamenting over the 
child. Putting them all out save the father and 



200 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



mother, and Peter, James, and John, Jesus took the 
child by the hand, and said to her, Maid, arise; and 
her spirit came again, and she straightway arose. 
And Jesus commanded them to give her meat. 
The parents were astonished at this miracle, and 
although they were charged to tell no man, the 
fame of it went through all the land. 

When Jesus departed thence two blind men fol- 
lowed him, crying, Thou Son of David, have mercy 
upon us. Jesus said to them, Believe ye that I am 
able to do this ? And they said, Yea, Lord. Jesus 
then touched their eyes and they immediately 
received their sight. And he charged them that 
they should tell no man; but they immediately 
departed, and spread it abroad in all the country. 

And a dumb man was brought to him who had 
a devil. Jesus cast out the evil spirit, and the dumb 
man spake. 

The people were astonished at these wonderful 
cures, and said that such things had never been 
seen in Israel before; but the Pharisees said, He 
casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. 
But Jesus went through all the towns and villages, 
preaching in the synagogues, and healing all kinds 
of sickness. 

We next find our Lord in Jerusalem. There was a 
pool near by the sheep gate of the city, which was 
supposed to possess the power of healing diseases. 
It was called the pool of Bethesda, which means 
" House of Mercy. n Thither resorted many impo- 
tent folk — the blind, the lame, and paralytics. At 
a certain season an angel came down and troubled 
the water, and whoever was first dipped after the 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 201 

troubling of the water was cured of his disease. 
One man, who had been lame for thirty-eight years, 
had lain a long time at the side of the pool, but 
having no friends to help him, others more nimble 
than himself reached the water first, and received 
the benefit. Jesus passing by saw this poor man, 
and having pity on him, he put the question to 
him, Wilt thou be made whole? The man ex- 
plained his situation to our Lord, and he said to 
him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And im- 
mediately he was made whole, and took up his bed 
and walked. This happened on the Sabbath day; 
and the Jews immediately said to the man, It is not 
lawful for thee to carry thy bed on the Sabbath 
day. The man answ T ered that he wdio had cured 
him commanded him to take up his bed and carry 
it; but that he did not know who the man was. 
Afterwards Jesus found the man in the temple, and 
bade him go and sin no more, lest a worse fate 
should befall him. 

He then went and told the Jews that it was Jesus 
who had cured him, and they sought to kill him, 
because he had healed on the Sabbath day. Jesus 
answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and 
I work. This answer made them still more angry, 
for Jesus had said that God was his Father, and thus 
made himself equal with God. Jesus then answered 
them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do 
nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father 
do: for w 7 hat things soever he doeth, these also doeth 
the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, 
and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and 
he will show him greater works than these, that ye 



202 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



may marvel. He went to warn them that the Father 
had committed all judgment to him, the Son, and 
that the hour was coming when all men would honor 
the Son even as they honored the Father. The 
Father, he told them, had already borne witness to 
him, the Son; but as they had not the word of the 
Father abiding in them, they did not believe on him 
whom the Father had sent. He also declared unto 
them that if they had believed their great prophet 
Moses, they would also have believed on him, for 
Moses wrote of him. 

Again it is the Sabbath day, and Jesus walked 
through the fields with his disciples; and the disciples 
being hungry, as they walked plucked the ears of 
corn and rubbed them between the palms of their 
hands and did eat. 

The Pharisees, ever ready to find fault, asked the 
disciples why they did that which was unlawful to 
do on the Sabbath day. But Jesus reminded them 
that when King David was hungry, he went into 
the house of God and did eat the shewbread, which 
no one should eat save the priests only, and gave 
also to them who were with him. He concluded by 
telling them that the Son of man was Lord also of 
the Sabbath. 

On another Sabbath day Jesus entered the syna- 
gogue and taught; and there was there a man whose 
right hand was withered. And the Pharisees 
watched whether he would heal on the Sabbath day, 
that they might find an accusation against him. 
Jesus knew their thoughts, and commanded the man 
to stand up in the midst. Then said Jesus to the 
Pharisees, Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 203 

good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 
And looking round on them all, he ordered the man 
to stretch forth his hand; and when he did so, it was 
restored whole as the other. Then the Pharisees 
became mad with rage, and took counsel together 
how they might kill Jesus; but his hour was not yet 
come, so he removed himself from that place, and 
returned once more to Galilee. 

On reaching Galilee he called together his dis- 
ciples, and chose out from among them twelve 
apostles, or messengers, as the word means. They 
were to go out to teach; and he imparted to them 
miraculous powers. Their names were Peter and 
Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 
Matthew and Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus, 
Judas,' the brother of James, Simon Zelotes, and 
Judas Iscariot. 

Seeing the multitudes which followed him, Jesus 
ascended a mountain, and there delivered to his dis- 
ciples the discourse called the Sermon on the Mount, 
of which the following is a part, commonly called 
the Beatitudes: 

u Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: 
for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: 
for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they 
which do huno-er and thirst after righteousness: for 
they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for 
they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in 
heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace- 
makers: for they shall be called the children of God. 
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteous- 
ness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 



204 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and per- 
secute you, and shall say all manner of evil against 
you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceed- 
ing glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so 
persecuted they the prophets which were before 
you." 

In this sermon Jesus taught his disciples, among 
other things, the spiritual nature of his kingdom; 
how to keep the commandments; how to pray and 
fast; warned them against avarice; reproved rash 
judgments; and exhorted them to enter in at the 
strait gate. He concluded the discourse by likening 
those who heard his sayings, and did them, to a wise 
man who built his house upon a rock, and when the 
storm came his house fell not, being founded on a 
rock. Those, on the other hand, who heard his 
sayings, and did them not, he likened to a foolish 
man who built his house upon the sand, and when 
the storm came his house fell, and great was the fall 
thereof. After finishing his discourse Jesus pro- 
ceeded to Capernaum. 

A Roman centurion — that is, a captain of a hun- 
dred soldiers — stationed in that city, had a servant 
whom he loved lying sick and ready to die. When 
he heard of Jesus he sent to the elders of the city, 
begging them to intercede with him that he might 
heal his servant. This they willingly did, for the 
centurion had built a synagogue and loved the Jews. 
The elders told Jesus this, and he went with them. 
But the centurion when he heard this went to meet 
Jesus and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou 
shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word 
only, and my servant shall be healed. When Jesus 



206 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

heard this he marvelled, and turning to his followers, 
said, I have not found so great faith, no, not in 
Israel. He then told the centurion to go his way, 
and it would be to him as he had believed. The 
servant was made whole that same hour. 

The next day Jesus went into a city called Nain. 
As he approached the gate, he met the people carry- 
ing a young man to his grave; and he was the only 
son of his mother, and she was a widow. When 
Jesus saw her he was full of compassion, and said to 
her, Weep not. And he touched the bier, and said, 
Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And the young 
man arose, and began to speak, and Jesus delivered 
him to his mother. And the people were afraid, 
but gave the glory to God, and said that a great 
prophet had risen up among them, and that God had 
visited his people. 

And one of the Pharisees, called Simon, invited 
Jesus to dine at his house. And he went in and sat 
down to meat. As he reclined at the table, a woman 
of the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that 
Jesus was there, came in, bringing with her an 
alabaster box of ointment, and she stood behind 
Jesus weeping, and began to wash his feet with her 
tears, wiping them with the hairs of her head, 
kissing them, and anointing them with the ointment. 
The Pharisee saw this, and thought to himself that 
if Jesus was really a great prophet, he would have 
known what kind of woman this was who touched 
him, and would have sent her away. Jesus knowing 
his thoughts, said to him, Simon, I have somewhat 
to say unto thee. And Simon said, Master, say on. 
And Jesus said, There was a certain creditor which 



2o8 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, 
and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to 
pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore 
which of them will love him most ? Simon an- 
swered, I suppose the one to whom he forgave most. 
Jesus said he had rightly judged, and turning to the 
woman, added, Simon, seest thou this woman ? I 
entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water 
for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, 
and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou 
gavest me no kiss; but this woman since I came in 
hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil 
thou didst anoint; but this woman hath anointed my 
feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her 
sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved 
much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same 
loveth little. Then he said to the woman, Thy sins 
are forgiven thee. And they that sat at the table 
said, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? - 

Jesus then began another tour through Galilee 
with his disciples, and he went into every city and 
village, showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of 
God. And they brought to him a man possessed 
with a devil, blind and dumb. Jesus cast out the 
devil, and the man could see and also speak. But 
the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through 
Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. And Jesus 
reasoned with them, showing them that as a city 
divided against itself could not stand, so if Satan 
cast out Satan, then he would be fighting against 
himself, and how could his kingdom stand? He 
warned them that for all manner of sin men would 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2Q g 

be forgiven, except for blasphemy against the Holy 
Ghost, which would not be forgiven. 

A woman in the crowd, hearing the wise and holy 
words which fell from the lips of Jesus, called out 
that the mother of one so good was blessed indeed; 
but Jesus answered that they were more blessed who 
hearing his word obeyed it. Mary his mother must 
have been in the vicinity, for a message was given 
to Jesus that his mother and brethren wished to 
speak with him. But he asked who was his mother, 
and who were his brethren. Stretching forth his 
hand, he said, Behold my mother and my brethren ! 
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which 
is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and 
mother. 

On this occasion our Lord received another invi- 
tation from a Pharisee to dine with him. He went 
in, and sat down to meat. The Pharisee was sur- 
prised that he washed not his hands before dinner; 
but Jesus denounced the Pharisees for their strict- 
ness as regarded outward observances, while their 
hearts were full of all wickedness. At the same 
time Jesus warned his disciples against hypocrisy, 
telling them there was nothing hidden but what 
would be made known; also that they were not to be 
afraid of what man could do to them, for man could 
kill only the body, while God could kill the soul. 
He reminded them that five sparrows were sold for 
two farthings, and not one of them could fall to the 
ground without his Father's knowledge; that the 
very hairs of their heads were numbered: they were, 
therefore, not to be afraid, for they were of more 
value than many sparrows. 
14 



2 IO STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER V 

THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN, OF THE SOWER, 
OF THE TARES, OF THE MUSTARD SEED, OF THE 
HIDDEN TREASURE, OF THE NET — JESUS STILLS 
THE WAVES — HE HEALS A DEMONIAC — SENDS 
OUT THE DISCIPLES TWO AND TWO — THE FEED- 
ING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND — HE AGAIN STILLS 
THE WAVES — THE HEALING OF THE SYRO-PKCE- 
NICIAN WOMAN'S DAUGHTER. 

ONE of the company who had been listening to the 
last discourse of Jesus asked him to be a judge 
between him and his brother, who was treating 
him unjustly, in that he would not divide the inher- 
itance with him. Jesus said, Man, who made me a 
judge or a divider over you ? And by way of warning 
all present against the sin of covetousness, he spoke 
the following parable: 

The grounds of a certain rich man had brought 
forth so plentifully that his barns would not hold all 
his fruits. Wondering what he should do, he re- 
solved to pull down his barns and build greater, and 
then say to himself, that as he had much goods 
stored away for many years, he might take his ease, 
eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, 
Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of 
thee, then whose shall those things be which thou 
hast provided ? 

Jesus then told his disciples to take no thought for 
themselves, what they should eat, nor what they 
should wear, calling to their remembrance how the 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 31 1 

birds neither sowed nor reaped, nor stored up into 
barns, and yet they were fed: and asking them to 
consider the lilies, how they grew, though they 
toiled not nor spun, and yet Solomon in all his glory 
was not arrayed like one of them. If God then cared 
for these things, how much more would he care for 
them ! They were to seek the kingdom of God, and 
all needful things would be given unto them. 

After this Jesus was at the seaside, and great mul- 
titudes followed him. He therefore went into one 
of the fishing-boats, and sitting down spoke unto 
them the parable of the sower, meaning thereby to 
show how the preached Word is received by the 
different classes of hearers. Some of the seed, he 
said, fell upon the hard, beaten path which ran along 
the edge of the field, and the birds came and picked 
it up. This represented the wayside hearers, the 
inattentive ones, who hear but do not heed. And 
some fell upon stony places, where there was a little 
earth. This grew quickly, and as quickly withered 
away, because there was not depth of soil to sustain 
growth. Those are they who hear the Word with 
joy, but having no root in themselves, when perse- 
cution ariseth they are offended. And some fell 
among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked 
the seed. These are the hearers who allow the 
cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life to choke 
the Word, and thus are unfruitful. But some of the 
seed fell upon good soil, and brought forth fruit 
thirty-fold, sixty-fold, and even a hundred-fold. 
This represents those who listen to the Word, and 
understand it and bring forth fruit unto life eternal. 

And Jesus spake another parable unto them of a 



212, 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



man who sowed good seed in his field, but while 
his servants slept an enemy came and sowed tares. 
When the blade sprang up, then appeared the tares 
also. The servants asked if the seed was not good 
which had been sown. Yes, the master said, but 
an enemy hath done this. Wait until the harvest, 
when the reapers will separate the tares from the 
wheat; the former to be burned, and the latter to be 
stored in the barn. The field, Jesus explained, was 
the world; the sower of good seed, himself. The 
good seed are the children of God; the bad seed the 
children of the wicked one. The enemy who came 
by night and sowed bad seed is Satan; the harvest is 
the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 
At the judgment day the angels shall gather the 
wicked ones and cast them out into outer darkness; 
while the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in 
the kingdom of their Father. 

Again Jesus likened the growth of the kingdom 
of God to a mustard seed, which is the smallest of 
all seeds, and yet when it is planted it grows so 
large that the birds can find shelter among its 
branches. 

He also compared the kingdom of heaven to a 
treasure hid in a field; which, when a man finds, he 
hideth, and for joy goes and sells all that he hath, 
and buys that field. He also compared the king- 
dom of heaven to a merchant seeking goodly pearls, 
who when he finds one pearl of great price, sells all 
that he possesses, and buys it. 

Jesus next compared the end of the world to a 
net cast into the sea, which gathered all sorts of 
fish. When it was full they drew it ashore, gath- 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 213 

ered the good into vessels, and cast the bad away. 
So would it be at the latter day. And a scribe, or 
teacher of the law, came to Jesus, and said to him, 
Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 
This drew forth from Jesus the answer, so indicative 
of his poverty, The foxes have holes, and the birds 
of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not 
where to lay his head. 

After Jesus had spoken these things, he entered 
into a boat along with his disciples, and sailed for 
the opposite shore of the lake of Galilee. Being 
weary with the labors of the day he fell asleep, and 
while he slept a sudden tempest arose, insomuch 
tli at the boat was covered with the waves. The 
disciples were afraid, and awoke him with the cry, 
Master, carest thou not that we perish? Then Jesus 
arose and rebuked the wind and waves, command- 
ing them to be still; and immediately there was a 
great calm. Then turning to the disciples, he 
asked them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that 
ye have no faith? And they were afraid, and won- 
dered what sort of a man this was, that even the 
winds and the sea obeyed him. 

When they reached the other side they were met 
by a demoniac, who dwelt among the tombs. So 
furious was this man that no one was able to bind 
him, not even with chains. But when he saw Jesus 
afar off, he ran and worshipped him, crying with a 
loud voice, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, 
thou Son of the Most High God ? I adjure thee by 
God that thou torment me not. Jesus commanded 
the evil spirits to come out of the man, and when 
they besought him that he would not send them out 



214 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



of the country, he gave them leave to enter into a 
herd of swine close by. Immediately the herd of 
swine, in number about two thousand, ran down a 
steep place into the sea and perished. Then they 
that fed the swine fled to the city, and told what 
they had seen, and the inhabitants came out to meet 
Jesus; but when they saw the demoniac sitting at 
his feet, clothed and in his right mind, they were 
afraid, and begged Jesus that he would depart from 
their coasts. Jesus returned to the boat; and when 
the poor man who had been cured desired to follow 
him, he bade him go home to his friends and tell 
them what had taken place. So he departed, and 
began to publish what great things God had done 
for him. Jesus returned again to the other side, 
where the people gathered to meet him, and heard 
him gladly. 

He now called his disciples together, and sent 
them out, two and two, to preach the Gospel, giving 
them power to work miracles. He also instructed 
them how to act under all circumstances, telling 
them they would be as sheep in the midst of 
wolves; but they were to be as wise as serpents and 
harmless as doves. He warned them that they 
would be persecuted, and taken before kings and 
governors for his sake; but they were not to be 
afraid: for whosoever confessed him before men, 
him would he confess before his Father in heaven. 

How long the disciples were absent we do not 
know, but on their return they gathered them- 
selves around Jesus, and told him all the things 
they had done, and what they had taught. And he 
said to them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert 



& 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2I ^ 

place, and rest awhile. And they departed into a 
desert place by ship privately. But the people saw 
this, and ran found the end of the lake, and reached 
the landing-place first; so there was a great crowd 
awaiting Jesus when he reached' the shore. And he 
had pity on them, and taught them, and healed 
their sick. The disciples then urged him to send 
the multitude away; but Jesus had compassion on 
them, for they were faint; and, turning to Philip, he 
asked, Whence shall we buy bread that these may 
eat ? Jesus himself knew what he would do, but he 
asked this question to try the faith of Philip, who 
only thought of the large sum of money it would 
take to feed so many. Jesus asked the disciples 
how many loaves they had, and Andrew replied 
that there w 7 as a lad in the crowd who had five 
loaves and two small fishes. He commanded them 
to seat the people in companies of fifty upon the 
grass. He then took the loaves, and when he had 
given thanks he distributed to the disciples, and the 
disciples to the multitude; and in like manner with 
the fishes. And when they had enough, Jesus com- 
manded that the fragments might be gathered up. 
And there were gathered twelve baskets full, the 
number that was fed being about five thousand. 

Jesus, desiring to be alone, caused his disciples to 
enter their ship, and cross over to Bethsaida, at the 
same time sending the people away. He then retired 
to a mountain to pray. Night came on, and the 
disciples were yet far from land, for the wind was 
contrary; and when Jesus saw them toiling in row- 
ing, he came unto them, walking on the water. 
But when they saw him they were afraid, thinking 



2i6 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

it was a spirit, and cried oat. Jesus said, Be of good 
cheer, it is I; be not afraid. Peter answered and 
said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on 
the water. Jesus said, Come. Peter went over the 
side of the ship, and at first he walked safely, but 
when he saw the boisterousness of the wind he be- 
gan to sink, crying, Lord, save me. Jesus stretched 
out his hand, and caught him, saying, O thou of 
little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ? Jesus then 
entered the ship, when the wind abated. 

The next day the people flocked down to the shore 
expecting to find Jesus, but not seeing him, they 
took shipping, and crossed the lake. When they 
found him they said, Rabbi, when earnest thou 
hither? Jesus did not satisfy their curiosity, but 
told them the reason why they had sought him out. 
He said, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, 
but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. 
Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that 
meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which 
the Son of Man shall give unto you: for him hath 
God the Father sealed. They then asked him how 
they would work the works of God. He answered 
them that the work of God was to believe on him 
whom God had sent. They then demanded of him 
a sign, saying that Moses fed their fathers with 
manna as a sign of his commission. Jesus answered 
that the bread which Moses gave their fathers was 
not the bread from heaven; but, he added, I am the 
bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hun- 
ger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 
They then began to murmur because he said he was 
the bread from heaven, when they knew he was the 



c 
5 

Q 



IE 
W 

c 
r* 

H 
»-* 
H 
c! 
O 
W 




2i8 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

son of Joseph and Mary. But Jesus told them not 
to murmur among themselves; for he said, No man 
can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent 
me, draw him: and I will raise him up at the last 
day. Many of his disciples when they heard this 
discourse said, This is an hard saying : who can 
hear it ? And they went back, and walked no more 
with him. Then he turned to the twelve, and said, 
Will ye also go away ? This drew from Simon 
Peter the reply, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou 
hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and 
are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the 
living God. 

Then Jesus went thence and departed into the 
regions of Tyre and Sidon. And a Gentile woman, 
a Syro-Phoenician by nation, whose daughter had 
an unclean spirit, sought him that he would heal 
her. But Jesus answered her not a word; and the 
disciples requested that she might be sent away. 
Jesus then said unto her that he was only sent unto 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But she fell 
down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 
He replied, It is not meet to take the children's 
bread and to cast it to dogs. She was not discouraged 
by the reply, but answered, Truth, Lord; yet the 
dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their mas- 
ter's table. Then he said, O woman, great is thy 
faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her 
daughter was made whole that very hour. 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2l g 



CHAPTER VI 

MORE MIRACLES OF HEALING — THE PHARISEES 
AND SADDUCEES DEMAND A SIGN — THE TRANS- 
FIGURATION — JESUS GOES UP TO JERUSALEM — 
THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN — JESUS 
AT BETHANY — THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL 
SON. 

WE next find our Lord on the shore of the Sea 
of Galilee. There they brought to him one 
who was deaf and had an impediment in his 
speech, and they besought him to put his hand upon 
him. Jesus took him aside, and put his fingers in 
his ears, spat, and touched his tongue, then looking 
up to heaven he sighed, and uttered the w 7 ord, 
u Ephphatha ! " that is, lc be opened ! " and imme- 
diately the man could both hear and speak. 

And great crowds came round Jesus, bringing 
with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the 
maimed, and many others, and casting them down 
at Jesus' feet; andvhe healed them. 

And Jesus had compassion on this multitude, as 
he had on a former occasion, and again fed them 
miraculously, the provision in this case being seven 
loaves and a few small fishes, while the fragments 
which remained filled seven baskets. Four thousand 
men at this time ate and were filled, beside women 
and children. And Jesus sent them away, while he 
and the disciples entered a ship, and came to Mag- 
dala. 

Here the Pharisees and Sadducees came tempting 



220 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

our Lord, and asking that he should show them a 
sign from heaven. He denounced them as hypo- 
crites, telling them that they could discern the signs 
of fair and foul weather, but they could not discern 
the signs of the times. He also told them no sign 
should be given them except the sign of the 
prophet Jonah, meaning, that as Jonah was in the 
belly of the whale for three days, so would he be 
buried for three days in the earth. 

Again Jesus entered a ship, and as they were cross- 
ing to the other side he warned his disciples against 
the evil example and teachings of the Pharisees, 
likening their influence to leaven spreading through 
flour. On landing at Bethsaida, a blind man was 
brought to Jesus that he might receive his sight. 
In this case, as in the former one of the deaf and 
dumb man, our Lord took him out of the to wn, and hav- 
ing anointed his eyes, touched them, and asked if he 
saw anything. The man replied that he saw men as 
trees walking. Then Jesus touched him again, and 
made him look up, and he saw everything clearly. 

Jesus and his disciples now turned northwards in 
the direction of Caesarea Philippi, and while on the 
way he began to teach them what things were about 
to befall him in Jerusalem: how that the Son of Man 
would be rejected of the elders and the chief priests, 
and be killed, and buried, and after three days he 
would rise again. He also taught them, that if any 
man wished to be his disciple, he must deny himself, 
and take up his cross, and follow him. For whoso- 
ever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever 
shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the 
same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, 



LP 

a 

w 

W 

H 

O 

W 



O 

H 

H 

O 



c 




222 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own 
soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his 
soul ? After six days Jesus took with him Peter, 
and James, and John, and led them up into a high 
mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion 
of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was 
white* and glistering. And, behold, there talked 
with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: 
who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease 
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter 
and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: 
and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and 
the two men that stood with him. 

And Peter, not knowing what he said, cried out 
unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and 
let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one 
for Moses, and one for Elias. And while he spoke 
a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came 
out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son; 
hear him. The disciples were sore afraid, and fell 
on their faces; but Jesus came and touched them, 
and bade them arise, and be not afraid. As they 
came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them 
that they should tell no man what they had seen 
until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 

When they joined the other disciples they found 
them surrounded by a great multitude, and being 
questioned by the scribes. Jesus asked them, Why 
question ye them? A man in the crowd answered 
that he had a son afflicted with a dumb spirit, which 
dashed him about, and caused him to foam and gnash 
with his teeth, and that he had asked the disciples 
to cure him, but they could not. Jesus tipbraided 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 223 

his disciples with their want of faith, and com- 
manded that the patient should be brought to him. 
Then, turning to the father, he said, If thou canst 
believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 
Straightway the father cried out with tears, Lord, I 
believe; help thou mine unbelief. Jesus at once re- 
buked the spirit, and charged it to come out of the 
lad, which it did, leaving him as one dead. But he 
took him by the hand, and he arose. And the people 
were all amazed at the mighty power of God. And 
when they were come into the house, the disciples 
asked their Master why they could not cast out the 
unclean spirit. Jesus replied, This kind goeth not 
out by prayer and fasting. 

Our Lord now spoke more plainly than ever to his 
disciples about his betrayal into the hands of his 
enemies, and his death and resurrection. But they 
did not understand him, and were afraid to ask what 
he meant. As they journeyed through Galilee the 
disciples disputed as to which of them should be 
greatest in the kingdom of heaven. When they 
reached Capernaum, Jesus asked what they had dis- 
puted about; but they held their peace. Jesus sat 
down, and taking a little child in his arms, he said, 
Except ye be converted, and become as little chil- 
dren, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this 
little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven. 

At Capernaum our Lord seems to have devoted 
his time to teaching his disciples, and fitting them 
for the work that lay before them. 

The feast of tabernacles was now at hanc^ 



224 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



and the brethren of Jesus urged him to go up to it, 
that he might show them his mighty works, but 
none spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. 
But Jesus bade them go to the feast alone, for his 
time was not yet come. After his brethren had 
gone to the feast he also went up, but secretly. The 
Jews were looking out for him, and there was much 
murmuring among the people concerning him, 
some saying, He is a good man; others, Nay, but he 
deceiveth the people; for they did not yet believe on 
him. 

At length Jesus appeared, and went into the tem- 
ple and taught the people, saying, Ye both know 
me, and ye know whence I am; and I am not come 
of myself, but he that hath sent me is true, whom 
ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, 
and he hath sent me. Then the people sought to 
take him; but his hour was not yet come. 

The feast lasted eight days, and the last day was 
the great day, for then all the people assembled 
before returning to their homes. On that day Jesus 
stood up in the temple, and cried, If any man thirst, 
let him come unto me and drink. He here spoke 
of the living water of which he had spoken to the 
woman of Samaria. Then many of the people 
said, He is the Prophet; others, He is the Christ. 
The people were divided regarding him, and some 
would have taken him, but no man laid hands 
on him; while the officers who were sent by the 
Pharisees returned, excusing themselves by saying, 
Never man spake like this man. 

Nicodemus pointed out to the Pharisees that the 
law judged no man till it heard him, but was met 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2 2$ 

by the sneering' reply, Art thou also of Galilee? 
Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no 
prophet. 

Then the Pharisees became more bitter, putting 
many ensnaring questions to him, and trying hard 
to find something against him that they might 
accuse him. But he rebuked them for their un- 
belief, and told them that Abraham through faith 
believed upon him. They said, Thou art not yet 
fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham ? Jesus 
replied, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abra- 
ham was, I am. The Pharisees took up stones to 
stone him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of 
the temple, going through the midst of them. 
And as he passed by he saw a man who had been 
blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him 
who did sin, this man or his parents? Jesus an- 
swered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his 
parents: but that the works of God should be made 
manifest in him. I must work the works of him 
that sent me while it is day; the night cometh, 
when no man can work. As long as I am in the 
world, I am the light of the world. When he had 
thus spoken he anointed the eyes of the man with 
clay, and bade him go and wash in the pool of 
Siloam. He went and washed, and his sight re- 
turned. This happened on the Sabbath day. 

The Pharisees, irritated at Jesus escaping from 
them, were still more angry when this man was 
brought before them upon whom such a wonderful 
miracle had been wrought. In their bitterness they 
could only say, This man is not of God, because 
he keepeth not the Sabbath day. They asked the 

!5 



22 6 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

man what he thought of him who had restored his 
sight; and he at once answered, He is a prophet. 
Upon this they pretended not to believe that he had 
been born blind, and called his parents to question 
them. Afraid to give offence, they said they could 
not answer; but their son was of age, he could 
speak for himself. Then the Pharisees told the 
man to give God the glory; as for Jesus, he was a 
sinner. But he boldly said, If this man were not 
of God, he could do nothing. In the end they cast 
him out of the synagogue, a most serious penalty, as 
it deprived him of his rights as a Jew, and made 
him an outcast from his father's house. 

When Jesus heard of this, he sought the man 
out. And when he had found him, he said unto 
him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? He 
answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might 
believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou 
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with 
thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he wor- 
shipped him. 

One day a lawyer asked Jesus this question, 
tempting him: Master, what shall I do to inherit 
eternal life? Jesus asked him what was written in 
the law; to which he replied, Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy 
mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus said, 
Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt 
live. The lawyer, willing to justify himself, asked 
who was his neighbor. Our Lord answered him by 
a parable: A certain man went down from Jerusalem 
to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2 2J 

him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, 
leaving him half dead. And by chance there came 
down a certain priest that way: and when he saw 
him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise 
a Levite, when he was at the place, came and 
looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came 
where he was: and when he saw him, he had com- 
passion on him, and went to him, and bound up his 
wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on 
his own beast and brought him to an inn, and 
took care of him. And on the morrow when he 
departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to 
the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and 
whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, 
I will repay thee. Which now of these three, 
thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell 
among the thieves? And the lawyer said, He that 
showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, 
Go, and do thou likewise. 

Two miles from Jerusalem, on the southeastern 
slope of the Mount of Olives, lay the small village 
of Bethany. There lived in this village three dis- 
ciples of Jesus, Lazarus and his sisters Martha and 
Mary. Jesus, on one occasion, passed through the 
village, and Martha received him into the house. 
While Jesus spake unto them Mary sat at his feet 
and listened to his words, while Martha went about 
her household duties in an anxious mood. At 
length she came to the Lord, and asked him that he 
should tell her sister to come and help her. His 
answer was a gentle rebuke: Martha, Martha, he 
said, thou art careful and troubled about man)' 



228 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

things, but one thing is needful; and Mary has 
chosen that good part, which shall not be taken 
away from her. 

One day, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, 
when he had ceased, one of the disciples requested 
that he should teach them to pray, as John taught 
his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye 
pray, say: Our Father, which art in heaven, hal- 
lowed be thy name: thy kingdom come: thy will 
be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by 
day our daily bread: and forgive us our sins; for we 
also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And 
lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from 
evil. At this time drew near unto Jesus all the 
Publicans and sinners to hear him, and the Pharisees 
and Scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth 
sinners, and eateth with them. Jesus therefore 
spoke unto them this parable: 

A certain man had two sons: and the younger of 
them said to his father, Father, give me the portion 
of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto 
them his living. And not many days after, the 
younger son gathered all together, and took his 
journey into a far country, and there wasted his sub- 
stance with riotous living. And when he had spent 
all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he 
began to be in want. And he went and joined him- 
self to a citizen of that country; and he sent him 
into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have 
filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: 
and no man gave unto him. And when he came to 
himself, he said, How many hired servants of my 
father's have bread enough and to spare, and I 



230 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, 
and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against 
heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to 
be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired 
servants. And he arose, and came to his father. 
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw 
him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his 
neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, 
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy 
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the 
best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his 
hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the 
fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 
for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was 
lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came 
and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and 
dancing. And he called one of the servants, and 
asked what these things meant. And he said unto 
him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed 
the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe 
and sound. And he was angry, and would not go 
in; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. 
And he, answering, said to his father, Lo, these 
many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I 
at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never 
gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my 
friends; but as soon as this thy son was come, which 
hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast 
killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto 
him, Son, thou art ever with me, and ajl that I have 
is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



231 



and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is 
alive again; and was lost, and is found. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS 
— OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN — 
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS — BLIND BARTIMEUS 
HEALED — THE CALLING OF ZACCHEUS — CHRIST'S 
ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM — HE TEACHES IN THE 
TEMPLE— THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. 

OUR Lord spoke another parable to those who 
were covetous and lovers of money: There 
was a certain rich man, which was clothed in 
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every 
day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, 
which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring 
to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich 
man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his 
sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, 
and was carried by the angels into Abraham's 
bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and 
in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and 
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy 
on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip 
of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am 
tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, 
remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst the 
good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but 



232 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And 
beside all this, between us and you there is a great 
gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from 
hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us 
that would come from thence. Then he said, I 
pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send 
him to my father's house: for I have five brethren; 
that he may testify unto them, lest they also come 
into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto 
him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them 
hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but 
if one went unto them from the dead, they will 
repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not 
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be per- 
suaded though one rose from the dead. 

And Jesus spoke another parable to those who 
thought themselves righteous and despised others: 
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one 
a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. The Pharisee 
stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank 
thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, 
unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I fast 
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 
And the Publican, standing afar off, would not lift 
so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his 
breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I 
tell you, this man went down to his house justified 
rather than the other: for every one that exalte th 
himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth him- 
self shall be exalted. 

And women brought their little children to Jesus that 
he might put his hands on them, and bless them, but 
the disciples rebuked them. Then Jesus called them 



w 
r 1 
w 
c/j 
c/j 

§ 

O 

H 
W 

o 

s 

p 
d 

w 
2 




234 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

unto him, saying, Suffer the little children to come 
unto me, and forbid. them not; for of such is the king- 
dom of God. 

And at the feast of the dedication Jesus walked in 
Solomon's porch, in the temple, when some of the 
Jews asked him to tell them plainly whether he were 
the Christ or not. Jesus replied that the works he 
had done in his Father's name were his witness. 

Jesus therefore left Jerusalem, and retired beyond 
the river Jordan, to the place where John had bap- 
tized. And many believed on him there. While 
he was in this place, a messenger arrived from the 
sisters of Bethany, Martha and Mary, to tell Jesus 
that their brother Lazarus was sick. Now, although 
Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus, he 
did not at once depart, but remained where he was 
two days longer. Then he said to his disciples, Let 
us go into Judea again. They remonstrated, remind- 
ing him that his life was in danger; but he told them 
no harm would come to him until the appointed 
time. He then told them Lazarus was dead, adding, I 
am glad for your sakes I was not there, to the intent ye 
might believe. So they went to Bethany, and on 
arriving there found that Lazarus had been already 
four days in the grave. When the news reached 
Martha that Jesus was not far off, she rose up and 
went to meet him. When she met him, she fell at 
his feet, and said, Lord, If thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died. But I know that even now, 
whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it 
thee. Jesus said to her, Thy brother shall rise again. 
Martha replied, I know that he shall rise again in the 
resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I 



236 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth 
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and 
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never 
die. Believest thou this? She said unto him, 
Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the 
Son of God, which should come into the world. 
When she had so said she went and said to her sister 
secretly, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. 
Mary rose quickly and went out, and the friends 
who were with her, thinking she had gone to the 
grave to weep there, followed her. On meeting 
Jesus, Mary also fell at his feet, and said, Lord, if 
thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 
When our Lord saw Mary and the friends that were 
with her weeping, he was troubled, and we are told 
that "Jesus wept." Then said the people, Behold 
how he loved him ! When they were come to the 
grave, Jesus bade them take away the stone. Martha 
reminded him that he had been dead four days, but 
Jesus answered, Said I not uuto thee that, if thou 
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of 
God ? Then they took away the stone from the place 
where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his 
eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast 
heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: 
but because of the people which stand by I said it, 
that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And 
when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, 
Lazarus, come forth ! At the sound of that voice 
Lazarus came forth, and Jesus bade those who stood 
around loose him from his grave-clothes and let him 

And many of the Jews which had seen these things 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2 X] 

believed on Jesus; but others hastened to Jerusalem 
and told the Pharisees what they had seen. From 
that time the chief priests and Pharisees determined 
that he should be put to death. But Jesus went 
with his disciples into a country near to the wilder- 
ness, into a city called Ephraim, and there abode. 
Their plots, therefore, had to be deferred until the 
approaching Passover, now near at hand, when they 
hoped that Jesus would come to the feast, and then 
they would be able to compass his death. 

Jesus, knowing his time had now come, left his 
quiet retreat, and joined the stream of pilgrims who 
were wending their way towards Jerusalem. Again, 
for the third time, he told his disciples more plainly 
than ever what treatment he should receive at Jeru- 
salem: how he would be mocked, scourged, spat 
upon, and finally be crucified and laid in the grave, 
but on the third day he would rise again. Even yet 
the disciples failed to comprehend the full import 
of these words, for shortly after we find the mother 
of James and John asking Jesus that her sons might 
sit, the one at his right hand, and the other at his 
left, when he came into his kingdom. 

Travelling onwards, the twelve, with their Master, 
reached the city of Jericho. Somewhere in the 
neighborhood, by the wayside, sat a blind beggar 
named Bartimeus. When he heard the noise of the 
passing crowd, he inquired what was the matter. 
On being told that Jesus of Nazareth passed by, he 
cried with a loud voice, Jesus, thou Son of David, 
have mercy on me. And they which went before 
rebuked him that he should hold his peace; but he 
cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have 



2 3 8 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



mercy on me. Jesus hearing the cry, stopped, and 
asked Bartimeus what he would do for him. He 
answered, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And 
Jesus touched his eyes, and told him to go, for his 
faith had saved him; and immediately he received 
his sight and followed Jesus. 

While passing through Jericho, a rich Publican 
named Zaccheus was very anxious to see Jesus, but 
could not for the crowd, because he was very short 
of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up a tree, 
and when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, 
and said, Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for 
to-day I must abide at thy house. Joyfully Zac- 
cheus responded to the call, and welcomed Jesus to 
his home. But the people murmured because he 
was the guest of one of the hated tax-gatherers. 
Zaccheus said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half 
of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken 
anything from any man by false accusation, I restore 
him fourfold. Jesus said to him, This day is salva- 
tion come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a 
son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to 
seek and to save that which was lost. 

Proceeding towards Jerusalem, our Lord reached 
Bethany two days before the Passover, and there a 
feast was given in his honor in the house of Simon 
the leper. Martha was present serving, but Laz- 
arus, who had been raised from the dead, sat at the 
table with Jesus. Then Mary, who was there also, 
took a box of costly ointment, and anointed the 
feet of Jesus, and wiped them with her hair. And 
the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. 
Then said Judas, who was afterwards to betray him, 



PI 

w 

a 

to 

n 

> 

5 

Q 

N 
> 
O 
O 
K 
W 

a 

O 

o 



o 
s 

H 

w 

H 

*> 
W 

w 




240 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



Why was uot this ointment sold, and the price 
given to the poor ? Then said Jesus, Let her alone, 
against the day of my burying hath she done this. 
For the poor ye have with you always; but me ye 
have not always. 

The next day Jesus proceeded to Jerusalem; and 
as he came near the village of Bethpage, he sent 
two of the disciples before him, telling them that 
as they entered the village they would find a colt 
tied, which no one had ever ridden. This colt they 
were to bring to him, and if the owners objected, 
they were to say, The Lord hath need of him. And 
the disciples brought the colt to him, and throwing 
their garments over, they set him thereon. And 
some of the people spread their garments, while 
others cut down branches and strewed them in the 
way. And the multitudes shouted, Hosanna to the 
Son of David ! Blessed is he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. 

And when Jesus approached Jerusalem and beheld 
the city, he wept over it. He not only wept, but 
broke into a passion of lamentation, saying, If thou 
hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 
the things that belong unto thy peace ! but now 
they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall 
come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a 
trench about thee, and compass thee round, and 
keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even 
with the ground, and thy children within thee; 
and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon 
another; because thou knewest not the time of thy 
visitation. 

And as Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city 



242 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



was moved, and the people asked, Who is this? 
And the multitude answered, This is Jesus the 
prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. He went into the 
temple, and as three years before he had purged it, 
so now again he cast out the money-changers and 
those who sold doves, saying, It is written, My 
house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it 
a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came 
to Jesus, and he healed them; and the children 
shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David, which made 
the priests and the Scribes come to him and ask in 
deep displeasure, Hearest thou what these say? 
Yea, was the answer; have ye never read, Out of 
the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast per- 
fected praise? 

And he spoke daily in the temple at this time, 
teaching the people in parables; and the Pharisees, 
seeing the deep impression his words made upon 
them, tried to catch him in his words, and for this 
purpose sent different persons to try him with hard 
questions, in the hope that his answers might offend 
the people, and turn them against him. The Sad- 
ducees also came to Jesus asking questions and 
hoping that they might draw from his reply some- 
thing to bring against him. But by the wisdom of 
his answers he silenced them all. 

The Lord then, in the hearing of all the people, 
warned his disciples, and bade them beware of the 
Scribes and Pharisees. Their religion was a mere 
pretence; they were proud, and liked to receive 
great honor, and therefore they made long prayers; 
but their deeds were evil, and their condemnation 
would be the greater. 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 243 

Four of the disciples came privately to Jesus, and 
asked him to tell them what would be the signs of 
his coming and of the end of the world, and when 
these things should happen. But Jesus told them 
that only God the Father knew that. Ye must 
therefore, he added, take heed, and watch and pray, 
for ye know not when the time is. Jesus then 
uttered this parable of the ten virgins, to impress 
yet more deeply upon their minds the necessity of 
watchfulness and faithfulness: Then shall the king- 
dom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which 
took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bride- 
groom. And five of them were wise, and five were 
foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, 
and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in 
their vessels with their lamps. While the bride- 
groom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And 
at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the 
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then 
all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your 
oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise 
answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough 
for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, 
and buy for yourselves. And while they went to 
buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were 
ready went in with him to the marriage: and the 
door was shut. Afterward came also the other 
virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he 
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know 
you not. Watch, therefore, for ye know neither 
the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man 
cometh. 



244 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER VIII 



JUDAS SELLS HIS MASTER — JESUS OBSERVES THE 
PASSOVER, AND INSTITUTES THE HOLY SUPPER 
— HE COMFORTS HIS DISCIPLES — THE AGONY IN 
GETHSEMANE — JESUS IS CARRIED BEFORE CAIA- 
PHAS — HE IS DELIVERED BOUND TO PILATE — HE 
SENDS HIM TO HEROD— HEROD INSULTS HIM 
AND SENDS HIM BACK TO PILATE — HE IS CRUCI- 
FIED, AND IS BURIED IN THE TOMB OF JOSEPH 
OF ARIMATHEA. 

MEANWHILE the enemies of Jesus, baffled in 
their attempts to ensnare him by their ques- 
tions, met together to consider how he might 
be taken by craft and killed. This they saw they 
could not do publicly, on the feast day, for fear of 
an uproar among the people. While they were dis- 
cussing the matter, Judas Iscariot, one of the 
twelve, came to them, and offered to betray his 
Master. They at once accepted his offer, and agreed 
to pay him thirty pieces of silver. 

On the first day of the feast of the Passover the 
disciples of Jesus asked him where he meant to 
keep the feast. And he said, Go into the city to 
such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, 
My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy 
house with my disciples. And the disciples did as 
Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready 
the Passover. 

When evening was come Jesus entered the city 
and proceeded to the large upper chamber where 



246 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

the feast was prepared, and sat down with the 
twelve. And as he did eat he spoke of his betrayal, 
saying that one of them would betray him to his 
enemies. And they were exceedingly sorrowful, 
and began every one to ask, Lord, is it I? Jesus 
replied, He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I 
have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop 
he gave it to Judas Iscariot. 

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and 
blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, 
and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took 
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, say- 
ing, Drink ye all of it: for this is my blood of the 
new testament, which is shed for many for the 
remission of sins. 

Then Jesus addressed unto his disciples those 
beautiful and comforting words, preserved to us in 
St. John's gospel, beginning with, " Let not your 
heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also iu 
me." 

Then he prayed, and after they had sung an hymn, 
our Lord, with the eleven faithful apostles, came to 
the Mount of Olives, and then made their way to an 
olive grove called Gethsemane. Here our Lord, 
telling the rest of the disciples to sit down, took with 
him Peter, James, and John, and retired to pray. 
And he began to be very sorrowful and heavy, and 
he said to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, 
even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 
And he withdrew about a stone's cast and knelt 
down and prayed. And being in an agony, he 
prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, 
great drops of blood, falling to the ground. And the 









o 

g 

x 

in 
W 

> 

W 




248 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

burden of his prayer to his Father was that the cup 
of sorrow might pass from him, but he added, 
Nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. 
It was not the Father's will that the cup of suffering 
should be removed; but he prepared him for it, for 
an angel appeared from heaven, and strengthened 
him. When Jesus returned to his disciples, he found 
them asleep. Waking them, he said, Rise, let us 
go; lo, he that betray eth me is at hand. While he 
yet spake, there came Judas, one of the twelve, and 
with him a multitude with swords and clubs, whom 
the chief priests, Scribes, and elders had sent out to 
do his bidding. Judas had said to these soldiers, 
Whomsoever I kiss, that is he. Take him, and lead 
him away safely. 

When he came unto the garden, he went straight- 
way to Jesus, saying, Rabbi, rabbi, and drew near to 
kiss him. Jesus saith unto him, Judas, betrayeth 
thou the Son of Man with a kiss? Then as the men 
came near with their lanterns and torches, Jesus said 
unto them, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus 
of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am he. 

As the armed men closed around Jesus, the dis- 
ciples drew back, fearing to stay by him lest they 
also should be seized and put in prison. So they all 
forsook him and fled. 

Jesus was then led to the house of Caiaphas, the 
high priest, where the Scribes and elders were as- 
sembled. Here he was examined and subjected to 
much insult. 

Witnesses were brought to speak against him, but 
their statements did not agree one with another. 
But Jesus held his peace. At last Caiaphas stood 



u 
> 

W 
> 



C 



H 

> 




250 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



up and asked hi in to tell them if he were the Christ, the 
Son of God. And Jesus said, lam, and ye shall see 
the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, 
and coming in the clouds of heaven. This was 
enough. Caiaphas rent his clothes, saying, What 
need have we of any further witnesses ? Ye have 
heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all 
with one consent pronounced him worthy of death. 
And they began to spit on him, and to strike him 
with the palms of their hands. 

Next morning they took Jesus and bound him, 
and led him away and delivered him to Pontius 
Pilate, the Roman governor, to be judged by him. 
They themselves could not enter Pilate's judgment 
hall for fear of being defiled, and thus rendered unfit 
to eat the Passover. Pilate therefore went out to 
them, and asked what they had to accuse Jesus of? 
They replied, that if he had not been a malefactor 
they would not have brought him. Take ye him, 
said Pilate, and judge him according to your law. 
They answered, It is not lawful for us to put any 
man to death. Then Pilate returned to the judg- 
ment hall, and asked Jesus, Art thou the King of 
the Jews? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of 
this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then 
would my servants fight, that I should not be de- 
livered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from 
hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a 
king? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a 
king. To this end was I born, and for this cause 
came I into the world, that I should bear witness 
unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth 
heareth my voice. Pilate asked, What is truth? but 



C 

w 

W 

o 

W 



> 

H 
W 




252 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



not waiting for a repty, returned to the Jews, and 
said, I find in him no fault at all. He then re- 
minded them that they had a custom whereby one 
prisoner was released at the Passover, and asked if 
he should release unto them Jesus. But they cried, 
Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a 
robber. 

Eager to get rid of a prisoner he had no wish to 
condemn, Pilate, hearing from the Jews that Galilee 
had been the chief scene of Jesus' ministry, sent him 
to Herod, under whose jurisdiction Galilee was. 
When Herod saw Jesus he was glad, for he hoped to 
witness some miracle performed by him. To all the 
many questions Herod put to Jesus, even though 
the chief priests stood by accusing him, he answered 
not a word. Then Herod, with his soldiers, arrayed 
Jesus in a gorgeous robe and mocked him. When 
he had done this he sent him back to Pilate. 

Pilate was troubled by the return of the prisoner 
and his accusers; and calling together the chief 
priests and elders, he told them that he, and Herod 
also, had examined Jesus, and nothing worthy of 
death 'could be found in him. I will therefore chas- 
tise him, and let him go, he said. But they cried, 
saying, Crucify him ! crucify him ! 

Pilate now became more desirous than ever to re- 
lease Jesus, asking the people what evil he had done, 
but the Jews cried out the more, If thou let this 
man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever 
maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. 
When Pilate heard the name of Caesar, he brought 
Jesus forth, and he said to the people, Shall I crucify 
your king? The chief priests answered, We have 




JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS 



2 53 



254 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



no king but Caesar. Pilate then, in presence of the 
people, took water and washed his hands, and said, 
I am innocent of the blood of .this just person: see 
ye to it. Then answered all the people, His blood 
be on us and on our children. And Pilate gave sen- 
tence that it should be as they required. Pilate now 
delivered Jesus up to them, and they scourged him, 
and platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his 
head, and put a reed for a sceptre in his hand, and 
bowing the knee before him, mocked him, crying, 
Hail, King of the Jews ! And they spat upon him, 
and took the reed, and smote him upon the head. 
They then led him out to crucify him, and they 
took hold of a man named Simon, a native of Cyfene, 
and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it 
after Jesus. And a great crowd" followed Jesus, and 
many women, who bewailed and lamented him. 
But Jesus turned to them, and said, Daughters of 
Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, 
and for your children. 

And when they were come to the place called 
Calvary, which was just beyond the city walls, they 
nailed him to the cross, and crucified him, and at the 
same time two thieves, one on the right hand, and 
the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, for- 
give them; for they know not what they do. And 
they that passed by reviled him, wagging their 
heads, and saying, If thou be the Son of God, come 
down from the cross. And the people stood behold- 
ing him, and with their rulers mocked and derided 
hiin, saying, He saved others; himself he cannot 
save. The soldiers also mocked him, offering him 
vinegar to drink, and saying, If thou be the king of 



256 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



the Jews, save thyself. And even one of the 
thieves railed on him, asking him to save himself 
and them; but the other rebuked his companion, re- 
minding him that they were only receiving the just 
reward of their deeds, but that Jesus had done noth- 
ing amiss. And Jesus said to him, To-day thou 
shalt be with me in paradise. 

And Mary, the mother of Jesus, was standing by, 
with her sister Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary 
Magdalene; also John, the beloved disciple. When 
Jesus beheld his mother and the disciple standing 
by whom he loved, he said to his mother, Woman, 
behold thy son, and to the disciple, Behold thy. 
mother. 

About noon the sky became very dark, and for 
three hours there was darkness over all the land. 
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud 
voice, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? 
After this he said, I thirst. And one ran and filled 
a sponge with vinegar, and gave it to him to drink. 
When he had received the vinegar, he commended 
his spirit to his Father, and with the words, It is 
finished, he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 
At that moment the veil of the temple was rent in 
two, from the top to the bottom; and the earth 
trembled, and the rocks were rent; and the graves 
were opened, and gave forth their dead. 

And the captain of the Roman soldiers who stood 
by said, Truly this man was the Son of God. The 
next day, being the Sabbath day, the Jews went to 
Pilate and besought him that the legs of the cruci- 
fied might be broken, and the bodies taken down. 
The soldiers therefore broke the legs of the two 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 2 $1 

thieves, who were still alive; but finding that Jesus 
was already dead, they broke not his legs, that the 
Scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not 
be broken. One of the soldiers, however, thrust his 
spear into Jesus' side, thus fulfilling another proph- 
ecy, They shall look on him whom they pierced. 

And one of the disciples, Joseph of Arimathea, a 
rich man, went to Pilate secretly and besought him 
that he might take away the body of Jesus. And 
Pilate having given him leave, he took the body 
from the cross, and wrapped it in fine linen, with 
costly spices, which had been brought by Nicodemus. 
And near where he was crucified there was a garden, 
and in it a new sepulchre, wherein man had never 
been laid; and here they laid Jesus. And Mary 
Magdalene and other women from Galilee were 
watching, and saw where Jesus was buried; then 
they returned to the city to prepare spices and oint- 
ments to anoint the body when the Sabbath day was 
over. 

The Pharisees meanwhile, remembering the words 
Jesus had uttered regarding his resurrection, went 
to Pilate pretending they were afraid lest his disci- 
ples might steal the bodv, and begged that a watch 
might be set over the grave until the third day. 
This permission being granted, they went, and made 
the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a 
watch thereon. 
17 



258 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



CHAPTER IX 

THE WOMEN FIND THE TOMB EMPTY — TWO ANGELS 
APPEAR TO THEM, AND TELL THEM U HE IS 
RISEN" — APPEARS TO MARY MAGDALENE, TO 
TWO DISCIPLES ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS, AND TO 
THE OTHER DISCIPLES — HE BLESSES THEM, AND 
ASCENDS TO HEAVEN — THE FEAST OF PENTECOST 
— THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN — THE CONVER- 
SION OF PAUL — PAUL'S MISSIONARY JOURNEY — 
THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL — EPISTLES TO THE 
CHURCHES — THE REVELATION OF JOHN. 

AND when Mary Magdalene and the other women 
- came very early in the morning of the first 
day of the week with spices to anoint the 
body of Jesns, they found that there had been a 
great earthquake, the stone had been rolled back 
from the door, and the grave was empty. And be- 
hold an angel of the Lord sat upon the stone, and 
his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment 
white as snow. And the angel said to the women, 
Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, which 
was crucified. He is not here: for he has risen, as 
he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay: 
and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen 
from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you 
into Galilee; there shall ye see him; lo, I have told 
you. 

The women, trembling with fear and joy, hastened 
away to tell the disciples, and as they went Jesus 
met them, and said, All hail. And they held him 



260 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

by the feet, and worshipped him, while Jesus told 
them not to be afraid, and repeated the message the 
angel had given them. And they came to the disci- 
ples and told them, but some of them did not be- 
lieve the glad news. Peter and John, however, 
hastened to the grave, and John, outstripping Peter, 
arrived first, and looking into the open grave, he 
found it empty, save for the linen garments which 
lay neatly folded; but he did not go in. When 
Peter came up, he entered the sepulchre, and saw 
the linen clothes in which the dead body of Jesus 
had been wrapped. John now entered, and they 
both believed, for until then they had not understood 
that Jesus must rise again from the dead. They 
then returned to their own home. 

But Mary Magdalene stood without at the sepul- 
chre weeping, and looking hi she saw two shining 
ones, who asked her why she wept. She said, 
Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know 
not where they have laid him. Turning away, she 
beheld Jesus standing beside her, but she knew him 
not. Imagining him to be the gardener, she said to 
him: Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me 
where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 
Jesus said to her, Mary. In an instant her eyes were 
opened, she knew her risen Lord, and she cried, 
Rabboni; which is to say, Master. But Jesus said, 
Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my 
Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, 
I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to 
my God, and your God. Then Mary went and told 
the disciples that she had seen the Lord. 

The soldiers who had been watching the grave 




HE IS RISEN 



261 



262 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

now went to the chief priests and told them all that 
had been done. They immediately assembled with 
the elders, and consulted how they might get the 
people to disbelieve the resurrection. They there- 
fore bribed the soldiers to spread the report that the 
disciples of Jesus had come by night, and stole him 
away while they slept. 

That same day, as two of the disciples were walk- 
ing toward Emmaus, talking of all that had hap- 
pened during the last few days, a stranger joined 
them, who asked them why they looked so sad. 
They in turn asked him how he could be ignorant 
of the things that had lately taken place in Jeru- 
salem. And he said unto them, What things? 
They then told him about Jesus of Nazareth, a 
prophet mighty in deed and word, who they trusted 
would have redeemed Israel, but who had been con- 
demned by the chief priests and crucified, and who 
it was rumored had now risen from the dead. Then 
their fellow-traveller said to them, Ought not Christ 
to have suffered these things, and to enter into his 
glory ? And beginning at Moses and all the proph- 
ets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures 
the things concerning himself. 

As they talked, they reached Emmaus, and the 
disciples constrained him, saying, Abide with us: 
for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. 
He consented, and as they sat down to their evening 
meal, he took the bread and blessed it; then they 
recognized their Lord, but even as they did so he 
departed out of their sight. Then they said one to 
another, Did not our heart burn within us while he 
talked to us by the way, and while he opened to us 



H 

W 

5 
o 

w 

D 

a 



o 

H 
O 
> 




264 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

the Scriptures ? They rose at once, and returned to 
Jerusalem with the glad news, telling the things that 
happened in the way, and how he was known of 
them in breaking of bread. The same day at even- 
ing the risen Lord appeared again to his disciples, 
who were assembled with closed doors for fear of 
the Jews, and he stood in the midst of them, and 
said, Peace be with you. When the apostle Thomas, 
who was not present, was told of this, he said, 
Except I shall see in his hands the prints of the nails, 
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and 
thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 

A week passed, and the disciples were again met 
together with closed doors, when Jesus appeared 
among them. After blessing them, he called on 
Thomas to reach forth his finger, and put it in the 
print of the nails, and to thrust his hand into the 
wound in his side, and to be not faithless, but be- 
lieving. And Thomas answered and # said, My Lord 
and my God. Jesus said, Because thou hast seen 
me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have 
not seen, and yet have believed. 

In obedience to the command of Jesus, the disci- 
ples had proceeded north to Galilee, and his next 
appearance was to seven of them who had gone out 
fishing upon the lake. All night they had toiled, 
and caught nothing. At dawn they saw one stand- 
ing on the shore, who asked if they had caught any- 
thing. They answered, No. He bade them cast 
the net on the right side of the ship, and they would 
find. They did so, and could scarcely draw in the 
net for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that dis- 
ciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord. 



PI 



> 

> 

72 



n 




2 66 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

Peter cast himself into the water, and swam ashore. 
When the others landed, dragging the net, they 
found a fire burning on the shore, and some fish 
cooking with bread beside it. Jesus bade them bring 
fish of the which they had caught, and then come 
and dine. And he divided the bread and fish 
amongst them. 

When the meal was over, Jesus asked Peter three 
times, Lovest thou me? And Peter was vexed when 
Jesus had asked him the third time, and he said, 
Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that 
I love thee. Then Jesus said, Feed my lambs; feed 
my sheep. 

It may have been at this time that Jesus appointed 
his disciples to meet him on a mountain in Galilee. 
About five hundred saw the Lord on this occasion, 
and worshipped him, and received from him his last 
commands. He ordered them to go and teach all 
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and he 
promised that he would be with them always, even 
to the end of the world. Jesus remained upon earth 
for forty days after the resurrection; but the time 
had now come when he must leave, not to return 
until he comes in glory to judge the world. He 
met his disciples once more in Jerusalem, and lead- 
ing them out as far as Bethany, he lifted up his 
hands, and blessed them, and as he did so he was 
parted from them, and a cloud received him out of 
their sight. 

After our Lord's ascension the disciples returned 
to Jerusalem, and abode in an upper room, where 
they prayed and gave thanks along with the faithful 



H 

W 

> 

o 
w 

CO 

o 
2 







2 68 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his 
brethren. Ten days after came the feast of Pente- 
cost, and on the first day of this feast the disciples 
were all in one place, when suddenly there came a 
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, 
and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
And there appeared cloven tongues as of fire resting 
on the head of each of them. And they were filled 
with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other 
tongues. And there were at that time dwelling at 
Jerusalem devout men out of every nation under 
heaven. And when every man heard the apostles 
speak in his own language they were amazed and 
confounded, and some mocked and said, These men 
are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up, lifted 
up his voice, and preached to them of Jesus of 
Nazareth — how his coming had been foretold by the 
prophets — how, when he did come, he was taken by 
the Jews, and crucified and slain — how God had 
raised him up, whereof they were all witnesses — 
and concluded by showing them that God had made 
that same Jesus both Lord and Christ. When they 
heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said, 
Men and brethren, what shall we do ? Then Peter 
said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one 
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. Then they that gladly received his word 
were baptized: and the same day there were added 
unto them about three thousand souls. And they 
continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and 
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 
And all that believed were together, and had all 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



269 



things common; and they, continuing daily with one 
accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house 
to house, did eat their meat with gladness and single- 
ness of heart, praising God, and having favor with 
all the people. 

And so the faith of Jesus spread, but the hatred 
of his enemies broke out once more. 

Their first victim was Stephen, a man full of faith 
and of the Holy Ghost, who did many wonderful 
miracles. False accusations were brought against 
him, but being permitted to answer them, his ene- 
mies were so enraged by what he said, that they 
gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being 
full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into 
heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus stand- 
ing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see 
the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing 
on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with 
a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon 
him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, 
and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their 
clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 
And they stoned Stephen calling upon God, and 
saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he 
kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, 
lay not this sin to their charge. And, when he had 
said this, he fell asleep. 

Among those who were present at the stoning of 
Stephen there was a young man named Saul. He 
was a strict Pharisee, and had consented to Stephen's 
death, and had become a notable persecutor of the 
Church. Breathing out threateniugs and slaughter 
against the disciples of the Lord, he started for 



270 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

Damascus for the purpose of bringing back to Jeru- 
salem, as prisoners, all the disciples of Jesus he 
could find in that city. As he drew near to it, sud- 
denly a great light shone round about him, brighter 
than the noonday sun, and a voice was heard, saying, 
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Saul, who 
had fallen on his face, answered, Who art thou, 
Lord ? And the voice replied, I am Jesus whom 
thou persecutest. And Saul was afraid, and asked, 
Lord, what wilt thou have me do? And the Lord 
said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it 
shall be told thee what thou must do. When Saul 
arose from the earth he could not see; and he was 
for three days without sight, and did neither eat nor 
drink; when one Ananias came to him. Now Ana- 
nias> who was a follower of Jesus, had been warned 
in a vision to go into a certain house, in a street called 
Straight, and inquire for one Saul of Tarsus, and lay 
his hand on him, that his sight might be restored. 
And when Ananias feared, because he had heard 
how Saul persecuted the Church, the Lord com- 
manded him to go, for he had chosen Saul to bear 
his name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the 
children of Israel. Ananias obeyed, and came to 
the house, and laying his hands on Saul, said, 
Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared 
unto thee in the way as thou earnest, hath sent me, 
that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled 
with the Holy Ghost. And immediately Saul re- 
ceived his sight, and he arose and was baptized. 

And straightway he preached Christ in the syna- 
gogues of Damascus. And all that heard him were 
amazed, and inquired whether this was not he who 




THE C01SVEKSI0N OF PAUL 



271 



272, 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



destroyed them that called on Christ at Jerusalem. 
But Saul increased the more in strength, and con- 
founded the Jews, proving that this was very Christ. 
Then the Jews were filled with anger against him, 
and sought opportunity to kill him. The disciples 
hearing of this let him down over the city wall in a 
basket, by night, and he escaped out of their hands. 

After this Saul is called Paul in Holy Scripture. 
He was eminently the apostle to the Gentiles. In 
his first missionary tour he was accompanied by 
Barnabas and his nephew John Mark. At this time 
they visited the island of Cyprus preaching the 
Christ, and also many towns on the mainland, nota- 
bly Antioch, where they abode a long time with the 
disciples, who were first called Christians there. On 
their return to Jerusalem they were received by the 
apostles and elders and the whole Church, to whom 
they told all the wonderful things God had done by 
them among the Gentiles. 

Paul and Barnabas afterwards returned to Antioch, 
accompanied by Judas, surnamed Barsabas, and 
Silas. When they had stayed some time in that 
city teaching and preaching, Paul proposed that 
they should revisit all the cities where they had al- 
ready preached the Word of the Lord; but a dispute 
arose between him and Barnabas, and the contention 
was so sharp that they parted the one from the other. 
And Paul, taking Silas with him, went through Syria 
and Cilicia, visiting the churches. 

And he came to Lystra, and here he found a 
young disciple named Timothy. From a child he 
had known the Scriptures, and Paul chose him to go 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 273 

with himself and Silas that he might preach the 
gospel. 

And Paul came to Troas, and while there he had 
a wonderful vision. There stood a man of Mace- 
donia, and prayed Him, saying, Come over into 
Macedonia, and help us; and assuredly gathering 
from this that the Lord had called him to preach 
the gospel there, he sailed with those who were with 
him, and came to a city of Macedonia called Philippi. 

At Philippi Paul and Silas were beaten, and then 
put in prison, with their feet in the stocks. And at 
midnight they prayed and sang praises to God. 
And suddenly there was a a great earthquake which 
shook the prison, and flung open the doors, and 
their chains fell off. And the keeper of the prison 
awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors 
open, would have put himself to death; but Paul 
and Silas called out to him to do himself no harm, 
as none of the prisoners had escaped. The jailer 
came trembling, and fell down before them, saying, 
Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved, and thy house. 

The rest of Paul's life was full of perils by sea and 
by land. He made many missionary journeys 
through Greece and Syria, and coming to Jerusalem 
was made a prisoner and taken before Felix, the 
Roman governor of Judea. Paul defended himself 
before Felix, and as he reasoned of righteousness, 
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, 
and said, Go thy way for this time: when I have a 
convenient season I will hear thee. But he still kept 
Paul a prisoner, and when he was succeeded by 
18 



274 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 



another governor, named Festus, he left Paul to be 
dealt with by him. He was then brought before 
Festus, but he declared he had done the Jews no 
wrong, and being a Roman citizen, appealed unto 
Caesar. Then King Agrippa came on a visit to 
Festus, and Paul was brought before them both. 
Agrippa said to Paul, Thou art permitted to speak 
for thyself. Paul began by complimenting the king 
on his knowledge of Jewish laws and customs, and 
then told the story of his life from his youth up, his 
miraculous conversion, and his call to be an apostle, 
concluding thus: Having therefore obtained help 
of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to 
small and great, saying none other things than those 
which the prophets and Moses did say should come; 
that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the 
first that should rise from the dead and should show 
light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. 

And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said 
with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; 
much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, 
I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth 
the words of truth and soberness. For the king 
knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak 
freely: for lam persuaded that none of these things 
are hidden from him; for this thing was not done 
in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the 
prophets? I know that thou believest. Then 
Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me 
to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, 
that not only thou, but also all that hear me this 
day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, 
except these bonds, 



STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 275 

And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, 
and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat 
with them: and when they were gone aside, they 
talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth 
nothing worthy of death, or of bonds. Then said 
Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been 
set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar. 

Paul was then sent with other prisoners to Rome, 
and suffered shipwreck on the way thither. But all 
in the ship escaped safe to land, which they found 
to be an island called Melita — now called Malta — 
the people of which showed great kindness to the 
shipwrecked strangers. After waiting here three 
months, they sailed again in a ship, which took 
them as far as Puteoli, whence they journeyed by 
land to Rome. And the Christians in Rome came 
to meet Paul outside the city; and when he saw 
them he thanked God, and took courage. 

Arrived in Rome, the centurion who had charge 
of the prisoners handed them to the captain of the 
guard; but Paul was allowed to dwell in his own 
hired house with a soldier to watch over him. And 
he sent for the chief Jews, and he taught them 
concerning Jesus Christ, and what Moses and the 
prophets had written about him. And some 
believed the things which were spoken, and some 
believed not. For two years Paul welcomed all 
who came to him, preaching to them the kingdom 
of God, and teaching those things which concern 
the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man 
forbidding him. Paul also wrote letters to the 
churches, the chief towns, and also to some of the 
younger bishops of the Church. Letters were also 



276 STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

written to the churches by Peter, James, Jude and 
John. These letters are called Epistles. In Paul's 
second letter to his son Timothy, after charging 
him, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to 
preach the Word, and to be instant in season and 
out of season, he goes on to say, I am now ready to 
be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is 
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that 
day; and not to me only, but unto all them also 
that love his appearing. 

The concluding book of the Bible is called M The 
Revelation of St. John the Divine, and was written 
by that apostle. He was exiled by the Emperor 
Domitian to the lonely isle of Patmos, where con- 
demned criminals were kept, and is believed to 
have survived all the other apostles. 

In his banishment he saw many visions; and in 
one of them one, like unto the Son of Man, gave 
him a message to the seven churches in Asia. He 
was also shown what troubles awaited the Church 
upon earth, but how in the end the kingdom of 
Christ would be triumphant. John also had a 
vision of the judgment day, and of the New Jerusa- 
lem, where the people whom Jesus had saved out 
of all nations would be gathered together. In that 
city there would be no need of the sun or moon 
to lighten it, for God was there, and the Lamb. 
And there was no night there, neither could the 
wicked enter in, but only those whose names were 
written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And many 




ST. JOHNS VISION 



277 



2 7 g STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 

other wonderful things ch'd John see and hear; and 
when the vision was past, the last words spoken by 
our Lord to him were, Surely I come quickly; and 
John answered, Amen. Even so, come, Lord 
Jesus. 

The Bible closes with this benediction: The 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 
Amen. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



OS 



